Stories of an Amethyst    A Cure for Boredom
by River Digi
Summary: Taron Sunwake, an amethyst dragon disguised as a human, has a problem. He's bored, and has been that way since birth! If there is anything that can break through his eternal boredom, where is it? Rated T but could be K  too I guess.
1. Chapter 0

The Cure for Boredom - A Taron Sunwake Story

Prologue

Before I start telling you this story, there are a few things I think you should know about the main character. You see, while Taron Sunwake looked like any other kid at his uncle's school(Ryo Antairus' School for the Gifted), he was actually much more. He was a Gem Dragon, an Amethyst, one of the last in Agartha(the world within a world) and among the most powerful for his age. Thanks to a powerful bit of magic his grandmother had used to hide her children from killers(who thought dragons were nothing more than beasts and would bring ruin to Agartha), he, his brother, his sister, and his mother could all look human(his father used to be human too, but an encounter with a Silver Dragon ended badly, and the magic used to bring him back didn't work as expected, turning him into an elf).

But he had one problem. He was always bored. Nothing could hold his interest for long, and this caused him to look for something -anything- to do. It didn't matter if it was taking apart a toaster or setting his sister's Half-Dragon Barbie collection on fire, he'd do it. As you can tell, this got him in quite a bit of trouble, but no one really got mad at him(except his sister, who now had to start her Half-Dragon Barbie collection over again) because they knew he couldn't help it. He was just bored all the time. Now, how about we get to the story, eh? It all star- What? You want to know what he looks like human? Fine, if it will get you to shut up and listen to the story.

At the time of this story, Taron Sunwake was 5ft 3in., a bit short for his "age"(his body grew slower than humans, almost aging at the same rate as half-elves) and he weighed in at about 130~140lbs. His hair was a weird mix of black and blonde with light streaks of purple, and his skin was a little paler than his schoolmates. He wore simple clothes when the school uniform wasn't required, usually tan pants with a gray-blue shirt. Not the most stylish choice, and I can't say the colors went together or anything, but it's what he wore. Though technically, he did wear something else, but I won't ruin the surprise! Now anymore questions? No? Then let's get on with the story!


	2. Chapter 1

The Cure for Boredom - A Taron Sunwake Story

Chapter 1: First Day of School

As soon Taron stepped out of the _Gate_ his Uncle Ryo had created to get them to the school, he knew that he would once again find nothing but boredom here. He sighed as he looked upon the school, seeing it as everyone did when they first arrived.. or when they weren't supposed to know where it was.

Before him stood his uncle's large, two story house, settled in the middle of his large estate. Most of which was covered by his Aunt Adsila's garden(she was a plant mage of considerable skill, and often tended the vast acres on her own). He'd once spent some time helping her with it, but that attempt to lift his boredom fell apart, just like everything else. As he remembered those fruitless(no pun intended) days, his father broke his reverie as he pointed at the house.

"Well look at that! Seems he's learned a bit more about his house since the last time we were here!" Tamrin Sunwake, accomplished arcane gunslinger, exclaimed. He was referring to the fact the house's shape had changed to become a much bigger, more impressive building. Taron's impulsive little brother, James "Jiminy" Sunwake ran straight for the door, eager to see his Uncle, the School, and what new mischief he could get into. Ephebe Sunwake, Taron's older sister, walked beside their mother Aananda, taking in the sheer size of the school carefully. Tamrin stood back long enough to give Taron a hopeful grin. "Maybe you'll find something interesting here, huh?"

"Don't get your hopes up Father, you've already fallen from the Argarthian skies once." Taron said bluntly as he followed the rest of his family inside. Unlike the others, he didn't stare as the wide double-doors opened to reveal a mass of students moving quickly to get to their next class. One student, absently plucking at the strings of his guitar, strode over to them.

"Hello there, you wouldn't happen to be the Sunwakes by any chance? I'm Su'Ta, Headmaster Antairus asked that I show you to the Auditorium. He's a bit busy at the moment, and thought you might like to listen to some of Avalon's bands while you wait. You'll be getting the full show of course, my band's opening first and they can't start without me." He said with a wink, his guitar changing to a style seen more often in bands. Taron saw Su'Ta's eyes change, turning faint purple with slit pupils, and noticed his mother had seen them too. She knew that meant the boy in front of them had draconic heritage. Amethyst Dragon to be exact. But Su'Ta smiled, his eyes became normal again, and he turned around to lead the Sunwakes through the school. Just outside the Auditorium doors, as Su'Ta left them to join the band and his family started to slip inside, Taron tapped his sister on the shoulder.

"Tell Mother and Father I'm going to go find my room. I need something to do, and this way Mother won't scold me for not unpacking."

"Okay, but couldn't you at least stay for one song?" Ephebe said as her brother turned to go.

"You know I'd just be bored. If I'm unpacking, at least I'll be a busy kind of bored." He knew he should stay, even if just so his older sister would be happy, but he couldn't bring himself to go in there. The thought of being surrounded by students who would soon be filled with the euphoria brought on by music when he himself couldn't feel the same... He didn't like it. "I'll be back before dinner, sooner if Uncle gets done with whatever he's doing. See you later."

"See you later Taron." Ephebe said as she gave her brother one last look before joining their parents and little brother inside.

A bell rang as Taron was walking through the halls, just as the last students slipped inside their classrooms, leaving a sweet silence. "_It would seem not all of the students could go see the concert today." _Taron thought as he traveled through the now empty hallways. Taking a flight of stairs up, he finds himself on a floor with rooms for students. Room Numbers 300-399, Section X2 to be exact. It didn't take long for him to find a room that had a vacancy. There was one problem though... it was a double, meaning he'd be sharing the room with someone else. Bored with the search for a room though, Taron knocked on the door, waited a moment in case someone was inside and needed time to get dressed or something, then went inside. He instantly found out why the double had two doors. There was a groove on the floor and ceiling going to a slit in the wall, where a pull-out wall was showing. One side of the room was a bit messy, sheets of music piled on the desk and instruments propped up in the corners. The other side was bare, having only an empty shelf, a desk and chair, a dresser, and a bed with folded sheets at the end.

"Ammy, could you get my things while I fix the bed?" Taron said as he pulled out his psicrystal(a special gem psychics sometimes had) out of his pocket. Thin, spidery legs grew from the sentient, faded purple gemstone.

_"Of course."_ The tiny stone said in his mind. "_Would you also like me to find a map, or perhaps see what Uncle is doing?"_

"No thank you, just my things right now. I want to be unpacked before dinner." Taron said back, sending Ammy on it's way, watching the gem scuttle away before turning back to his bed. He had just finished when a portal opened up next to him and his luggage fell through, Ammy standing on top. "It took you long enough." He said as the portal closed with a *poof*.

_"Do you know how much energy it takes to move something a hundred times heavier than yourself?" _ The indignant psicrystal thought at him angrily.

"Considering that the power came from me, yes I do." Taron replied as he unhooked the latch on his first bag and started unpacking.

A few hours later he was laying on his bed staring at the ceiling when he heard the door open. He glanced up to see a kid his age(younger technically but, like I told you earlier, Taron doesn't age like other kids) staring at him, an electric guitar hanging from it's shoulder strap. He looked genuinely surprised to see someone else in the room, and went on edge almost immediately.

"Um... I wasn't told I was going to be having a roommate." The kid said, taking off his guitar and laying it on his bed. He stared at Taron like he was crazy, and just for being in the same room!

"I only just got here, along with the rest of my family. This isn't going to be a problem, is it?"

"No," the kid said slowly, as if trying to gauge Taron's reaction. "But I would have liked some warning before you moved in."

"My apologies," Taron said, already bored with the conversation. "But it seems introductions are in order. My name is Taron and this," he said as Ammy crawled up his shoulder, "is Ammy, my psicrystal."

"I'm Kamenwati. Only the teachers call me that though, everyone else calls me Kamen. Or the Prince of Music." He said, rolling his eyes. "As if I wanted that kind of attention right now..."

Taron made his eyes shift to draconic, letting him see magical and psionic auras. Kamen was covered head-to-toe in illusions. Strong ones.

"You should be more careful with what you say. There are more people in this school now that can see magic, if they try. So why are you he-" He was cut off as Kamen grabbed Taron's shirt, moving faster than he should have been able to, and pulling him up to stare him in the eyes. His own seemed to hold back a storm.

"If you tell _anyone_, you'll regret it. This is the only place I'm safe, safe from something terrible, so don't you _dare_ tell anyone I'm hiding!" He paused, his breathing harsh and ragged, the faint scent of stormy air wafting from him.. and brimstone.

"A secret, huh?" Taron said, unfazed by the intimidation. Ammy though, was running back and forth in a panic. "That's not too boring, so you can relax. I know the importance of keep true forms hidden, and the consequences that can result if said form is revealed. I assume you have magic keeping you safe from scrying as well?"

Kamen's glare continued for a moments, then he threw Taron back on his bed and stormed off to the pull-out wall.

"The school has wards that wreak havoc on those that try to look in without permission. I'll have the same by the time I leave." With one last glare at his new roommate, he slammed the wall closed, cutting the room in two.

"Well," Taron said to Ammy, "I guess I won't be too bored here after all. Let's go see if dinner's ready, and rate the shock on people's faces when they see how much the new arrivals can eat."


	3. Chapter 2

The Cure for Boredom - A Taron Sunwake Story

Chapter 2: Meet the Band

As expected, dinner came with a show for Taron, as his siblings and Mother were eating far more than there slim, fit bodies would lead you to believe was possible. One student actually had to leave the hall, afraid he'd lose his dinner if he stayed. Not because he was about to throw up or anything, oh no, he was afraid the Sunwakes would want more and come after his! Taron was careful to eat slower than his family. His Uncle had explained he tried to encourage the belief that background didn't matter here, and that included family and race. Ammy saw through that though, and told Taron as much later. His Uncle actually didn't want rivalries and feuds to affect the relatives of those involved, or for ridicule and torment to find it's way to students who had parents as teachers.

Students like Taron, Ephebe, Jiminy, and the three young red-heads Uncle Ryo said were his. Yeah, you heard me right, Aananda and Tamrin Sunwake were teachers. It was one of the reasons Ryo had asked them to come stay at the School. He needed someone for PE(Aananda got this job, but students needed to be at least the equivalent of a 15 year old and had to sign a waiver to take her advanced class. She was fierce!) and Arcana Studies(Tamrin got this one, obviously).

Other than the one student and Jiminy accepting/winning an eating challenge, dinner was uneventfully(and as you may have guessed, boring for Taron). After dinner though...

"Excuse me! Everyone, please pay attention for one moment!" Ryo, seated in a balcony with the teachers, said, his voice magnified by a bit of magic. "One hour after dessert is over and you've had a chance to prepare, I'm opening up the second basement for a Snipe Hunt! Those of you who wish to participate should put your names on the entry forms. As usual, you must meet all qualifications for the Hunt before you can join. Students new to the school will find a pamphlet on their beds explaining all prerequisites needed to join the Hunt as well as the rules to be followed throughout the event. That is all."

Immediately a buzz rose up among the students to fill the void Ryo left behind when he sat down.

"A Hunt? I can't wait!"

"I'm going to go get ready right now!"

"Do you want to be teammates?"

"Do you think Daki will want to be on a team?"

All this and more Taron ignored as he sent Ammy to fetch his copy of the pamphlet while he left the hall with a myriad of other students. He was alone not 50ft past the doors though, as the others rushed off to their rooms.

"Must be a popular event."

"It is. It lets them blow off steam and let's them use abilities in combat." Said Kamenwati as he rounded a corner and stood in front of Taron. "Are you going to join in?" He said, a malevolent gleam in his eyes.

"I've made you angry, haven't I? How long have you been here without anyone noticing? You want to fight me, here I am, but don't keep making thinly veiled threats. They are boring."

"I can't get into a fight with you, not outside of the Hunt. Violence gets you teleported to Detention faster than lightning strikes. My question remains, are you entering?"

"I was getting bored and looking for something to do anyway, it might as well be this Hunt." Taron replied as a portal opened above him and Ammy dropped through with the pamphlet. "See you there."

As Kamen stormed off toward the stairs down, Taron took a moment to read the rules and regulations before heading in the same direction. "1: There are only three Snipes in the Hunt. The people playing the part of Snipes are chosen at random, and can be anyone from a new participant to a teacher." He read out loud. "2: All abilities and powers are allowed during the Hunt, save those that would allow you to know who the Snipe is. Go all out and hold nothing back, the more students you defeat in battle increases the chance that one of them is a Snipe! 3: If you are defeated, you will be teleported out of the Hunting Ground and into one of the observation balconies. Accept defeat with dignity and grace. 4: The Hunt is over when all the Snipes have been defeated, or in two hours, whichever comes forth. 5: Have [i]_fun![/i]_ This may be a war game, but it is still a game."

"Regulations " he continued, starting to walk down the basement stairs. "A student may only participate if they are old enough(respectively for their race's rate of growth), and have a passing grade in all of their classes. If a student has had any disciplinary problems in the last month, they will not be allowed to participate. Each student must sign on the line below, showing that they understand all of the rules and regulations." Taron took a pen out of his pocket, signed on the line, and handed the pamphlet to the surprised teacher as he walked through the door. He was twenty minutes early, which meant he'd have plenty of time to check out the area he'd be hunting in. He also kept an eye out for Kamen, not wanting to alert his angry roommate of his presence. He noticed the markings everywhere, on the ceiling, the floor, the walls... He shifted his eyes and saw abjuration magic wove deep into the markings. Protections and wards to prevent serious injury and death he guessed. He turned a corner and found himself staring out at a forest. Vast, with trees placed so naturally, his Aunt Adsila must have had some part of it. He'd have to thank her for this later. Hiding was so boring, and until the Hunt started, he'd have time to stop hiding.

He started running, getting miles away from the entrance before he let the transformation take place. His skull stretched out, his neck and spine lengthened, making loud popping sounds as his human form distorted grotesquely before his skin "flipped" over and became dark amethyst colored scales. He felt his shoulder blades crack in two, separating as his torso expanded and his wings formed. A loud crunching sound emanated from his body as the rest of his dragon-self formed and settled into place. It always felt so good to take the slow transformation... He threw his mind out in search of other students and found only Kamenwati, miles away, to far away to hear the long pent-up roar Taron shattered the forest's silence with!

"I know the pamphlet said you could go all out" said a familiar voice behind him. "But you should know better than to change here when the basement will be filled by nearly the entire school."

Taron turned his neck to gaze over his wings, meeting the eyes of his uncle.

_ [i]And you should know that I'll never be caught like this. Even my roommate Kamenwati, the only other person in here besides us, is miles away.[/i] _Taron thought at Ryo. [i] _I'm more cautious than _you_ were, Uncle Cardcaster.[/i]_

"I had to use my cards to keep people safe. If that brought me to the public eye as a Cardcaster, so be it. They forgot soon enough, and that was a long time ago. You are here now, and the hatred Agarthians have for dragons is still running strong. Change back now, the Hunt starts soon, and I don't want the other students thinking a dragon is one of the Snipes. I'd hate to loose them too." Ryo said with a knowing wink.

[i]_I wouldn't do any permanent damage to them.[/i] _Taron thought as he shifted back into his human form. "Unless they did something extremely stupid." A loud piercing sound echoed throughout the forest. Ryo glanced behind himself, eyes clouding over.

"A decent amount of new students are joining in this time. Wonderful, maybe some new talents will show themselves."

"So that's the real reason this event was held? To ignite new strength in the participants?"

"Actually, that's just a side-effect of the emotions and stress the Hunt brings on. I actually started it so everyone 'could get away from it all' for awhile. I have to go now. If I don't I'll have the entire student body trying to take me down!" Ryo waves farewell and steps into a _Gate _as Taron takes off toward Kamenwati. If he wasn't going to believe him when he said he'd keep his secret, he was going to knock some sense into him...

Despite his head start, Taron wasn't the first to get to Kamen. Apparently there were some small teleport-pads scattered throughout the forest at random, and they'd take you to a specific person.

Amazing what information a little telepathy can get you, isn't? Anyway, back to the story!

He found Kamen in a clearing facing five other students, each one radiating the aura of experienced fighters. Kamen didn't seem to mind though, since he was leaning against a boulder and looking for all the inner-world like he was tuning his guitar. One of them, a halfling, ran at him tossing a wave of daggers and throwing axes straight at Kamen. Each one fell from the air as Kamen struck a few chords, small shock waves knocking them all aside.

"You didn't think I brought this guitar for show did you? You're going to need to step it up against me." He plucked a single string, and knocked the halfling back a few feet, placing him in front of the other four. "It's five on one, so this should be fun." Kamen looked up and saw Taron, and grinned. "Are you going to join in? Six on one would be even more fun."

The group looked surprised to see Taron, but they seemed to like the idea of him joining their side. He dashed their hopes quickly.

"Actually, I think I'll take you all on. I need something to do until you can devote your full attention to [i]_our[/i] _fight." He waved his hand at the halfling, copying Kamen's attack and more, flinging him into a tree with a thunder-like crack. He didn't get back up. "I don't think this will take too long."

[i]_That[/i]_ set the remaining four off, and they all attacked at once in their own way. The half-orc pulled a sword from out of nowhere, the two humans jumped over him to attack from behind, and the elf spoke an arcane incantation and threw two darts of pure force at him. Taron ducked under the sword-swing and rolled with the human's, but the darts he couldn't dodge. Fortunately, his draconic ancestry and the elf's inexperience worked together to negate the magic.

For those of you who don't know, most dragons in D&D/Pathfinder have something called spell resistance, which can stop some spells from even effecting them. The stronger a spell caster is, the easier it becomes to bypass spell resistance, though older dragons have stronger SR.

"Kamenwati did say you'd ha-" Taron started to say to the shocked elf, before Kamen's guitar slammed into his head, sending a shock of electricity and a painful vibration throughout his body. "That hurt." He said as shook the ringing from his ears and glared at the guitarist. Figuring out that the two feuding in front of them were out of their league, the group quietly collected their halfling friend and ran, leaving the Hunt.

"It was supposed to knock you out. Guess your words before weren't boastful after all."

"Whether you believed them or not, my skill and endurance level remained the same."

"Good!" Kamen exclaimed as he lunged forward to attack again. Taron barely had time to slip into a defensive posture before slipping out of the way of the enchanted instrument. Kamen shouted [i]_something[/i] _at him, and for a moment Taron thought he'd lose his dinner as pain ripped through him. "Oh no.. " Kamen whispered as he backed away, horrified.

"Since when," Taron spoke slowly as he stared at the retreating musician, "do band members know evil spells?"

Kamen tried to run, but Taron was faster, and it took only a few seconds to pin him against a tree. Taron expected Kamen to struggle, and used a Stone Grapple to hold him steady as he tried to get away.

"Agh! Let go of me! Leave me alone!" Taron could see wet streaks on Kamen's face now, proof that the spell had done more to Kamen than himself, even if it wasn't physical.

"Kamen, calm down. I told you before I'd keep your secret, even if I don't know what it actually is. If this has something to do with the form you hide, I won't tell anyone about it. I'm not a liar." Kamen didn't seem to hear him and was on the verge of hysterics when Taron released his grip, spun him around, and punched him in the gut. He let Kamen slump down toward the ground, stunned. "Damn it, listen! I'm not going to tell anyone!" He yelled at the guitarist. Then he stopped, both to take deep breathes and because he was shocked. He'd never been angry before, never been anything but bored.. He knew about stuff like anger and joy and sadness, but until now, hadn't felt them himself. And he didn't know why...

"You.. mean it don't you?" Whispered Kamen, snapping Taron's attention back to him. "About not telling?"

"I did. But I want to know why you reacted like that. This school was started to help people gain control of their abilities, and a side-effect of the Hunt is that it may cause new ones to rise. If you knew you might lash out like that, coming here was a mistake."

"It was the only place close enough that might hide me. I told the Headmaster my mother sent to learn how to control my storm-magic. He believed after I showed him one of my spells."

"Your mother doesn't know you're here, does she?" Taron didn't wait for an answer. "That doesn't matter to me, but I'll listen to your story later. Right now, let's get out of here."

Kamenwati got to his feet, shaking the sudden stiffness from his body, before he nodded for Taron to start walking and picked up his guitar. Unfortunately, they didn't even get close to leaving the Hunt.

"What have we here, hm? Kamenwati and a new kid, all alone with nowhere to run..." A sickly sweet voice said. Murmurs came from all around the pair.

"Crap." Said Kamen. "We're trying to leave, Belyu."

"That's too bad Kamenwati, cause my friends and I wanted to have a little fun, and none of the new talent is very... well, talented. Well, except for that one, if those five fools told the truth."

Taron knew where the voice was coming from now, and he knew how many there were. 20 others and this Belyu, who was walking around the circle her friends had made around him and Kam, trying to hide where her voice was coming. If he didn't still have a bit of adrenaline , her plan would have worked. [i]_Would have.[/i]_

There were a lot of them, so he had to use his mental powers sparingly. He glanced quickly away from her, as if he thought she was over there, then tossed a ball of mental ice at where she really. Caught off guard, she wasn't able to fully dodge in time, and felt the preternatural chill spread through her shoulder.

"Ooh, that's cold! Guess that means those newbies were telling the truth after all. Get 'em!

Have you ever been in a snowball fight, and snowballs are coming at you from everywhere? Now imagine it's arrows and throwing knives, javelins and clubs. It's a scary thought, isn't it? But Kamenwati and Taron moved quickly to block and dodge as many as they could. Despite their best efforts though, they still got hit more than they would have liked. A dagger that had cut across Taron's back was poisoned, and if he'd had the time, he would have thanked his racial immunity to such toxins. Immune or not, that daggers was the reason his gray-blue shirt was slowly turning dark red in the back.

Seeing their prey weakened, the gang swarmed them, drawing all kinds of weapons made for close ranged combat. [i]_Biiig[/i]_ mistake.

Now that they were close enough, his mother's training kicked in, and he kicked out. The first attacker went down clutching a "sensitive area", disappearing as another moved to take his place. Behind him, Taron heard the faint thunderclaps that accompanied Kamen's guitar, and decided to pick up the pace. He slipped between two of the students and tripped another, sending her into the first two to bring them down with her. He jumped out of the way of an ax only to slam into a shield. He was getting [i]_real bored[/i] _of being hit with stuff that wasn't supposed to be made to hit. Turning, he ripped the shield from from the offending student's arm and proceeded to slam it down on his head, actually breaking it in two on the student's surprisingly thick skull. Tossing the broken pieces aside as he ducked another ax swing, he punched the ax-man's kneecap and used the momentum from the resulting fall to fling him sideways at the other students. As he did so, he saw golden flecks rain down on the mob, and felt a spell trying to affect his mind. He forced himself to get rid off it, and was rewarded by being able to still see. All the other students in the fight that got caught by the spell were blinded by the light bouncing off the flecks. Several of them tried to run, only to lash out at whoever they ran into. Withing ten seconds of the spell's casting, only half the group remained in the Hunt, the others teleported away by the wards before their injuries grew too severe. Taron glanced back at a grinning Kam, who made another boy vanish as he swung his guitar again.

"What can I say? Not everyone likes stage make-up!" He laughed. Bleeding from minor cuts, the most serious injury he seemed to have was a swelling eye. The things that didn't surprise Taron about this guy were growing by the minute.

"Belyu, you can come out now! You too Su'Ta!" Kam called out. Slowly, a beautiful brunette step out from behind a tree, a playful grin on her face. She was followed by a gray-haired boy. Each looked to be the about the same age as as Kam and Taron.

"You didn't disappoint this time, did you Prince? That was a very entertaining fight! Who are you?" She asked, suddenly turning to Taron, who was still waiting for an attack of some sort.

"I'm Taron.. a new student and Kam's roommate. Who are you two, and why aren't you trying to attack us?"

"I'm Belyu Dae and this is Su'Ta, one of two former new kids. We're both part of [i]_Fly Free[/i]_, Kamenwati's band. His roommate you say? Kamen, I thought you preferred to stay alone in your room? You even asked the Headmaster if you could have a room all to yourself! Something about not wanting to hit someone with lightning."

"Well," said a suddenly uncomfortable Kam, "I didn't have much of a choice. I was coming back from the concert and found him in the room, already unpacked."

"Soon after which I was threatened profusely." Taron interrupted. "Now if you'd answer the second part of my question? I'm getting bored just standing around like this."

"Nothing gets past you, does it Sunwake?" Su'Ta said, speaking for the first time. Taron recognized him now as the student that had lead his family to the auditorium. "Don't look so surprised, I know most of the students around here before they know me. We're not fighting because we usually round up the least experienced fighters and get them into a group, raising their confidence and skill as we direct them against stronger students. They usually split up after their second Hunt as a big group."

"I see. Kam, let's go before I accidentally knockout a Snipe or something. My reason for being here is gone."

"Jeez Taron, could you be a bit more blunt and maybe add a hint of rudeness? I don't think they caught it." Kamen muttered. "He's right though, it's time for us to leave. Maybe next time we'll get Su'Ta and Ta'Su together and have a big fight."

They left through one of the teleportation circles, got cleaned up, healed by the medics, and returned to their room.


	4. Chapter 3

The Cure for Boredom - A Taron Sunwake Story

Chapter 3: Outer Dragon, Inner Demon

"Okay," said Taron. "What was with the evil spell?" Kam cringed, he hadn't been expecting the questions to start so soon. He flopped onto his bed and stared at the ceiling for a long time before answering.

"You already know I don't actually look like this.. and that I'm hiding from someone.. But you don't know that the reason for both is my mom and my... [i]_step-father[/i]_." He spits the word out with such loathing that the air itself seemed to draw away from him. "If she hadn't meet.. [i]_it[/i]_, I'd probably not be here covered in illusions and threatening roommates because they noticed them. She meet it and we moved within a week. Not down the block or another town, but to a [i]_different plane[/i]._ The.. the Infinite Planes of the Abyss, to the Floating Citadels that followers of Pazuzu created so their Demon Lord wouldn't have to walk the infernal ground to accept their occult worship." He stops, trying to calm himself and failing. "I was four years old when I saw my first sacrifice to that overgrown crow! The things they did to that person-who actually seemed to [i]_enjoy[/i]_ it-gave me nightmares for weeks. My loving mother took that as a sign that Pazuzu would be a great part of my life, that I'd be devout just like her. Never before had I prayed so hard that I'd be able to get away, to go home and live like nothing had happened!" He had tears streaming down his face now. "Years in the Abyss, raised by demons and having occultist teachings shoved down my throat... and then I turned thirteen! Oh what a happy year that was! You know how kids change, how their parents say it's normal? Well, I wasn't like other kids!"

He reached under his right sleeve and pulled a hidden armband off. Slowly, his form wavered until the illusions faded away. Now before Taron stood an entirely different Kamenwati. Short brown hair was long and black like a storm cloud, green eyes were blue, and fair skin turned dark gray. Small horns poked out from his forehead, while scales covered his upper-arms and collarbone. A barbed tail whipped about furiously behind him. The storm and brimstone scent Taron had smelled earlier filled the room.

"Once I was a normal tiefling, a child with a weak blood-tie to some demonic filth far back in my family tree, just like my mother. Now, I'm a cambion, a half-fiend, forever chained to the Abyss by my body! To make matters worse, the Abyss acted as a catalyst for more than just my demon blood." He closed his eyes, and electricity arced across his skin a moment later. "Exposure to Abyssal storms charged my blood throughout the years, and with puberty came the onset on storm magic."

"You can run now, go screaming through the halls about how Kamenwati's a demon child. I'll be gone before anyone gets here." He pulled a suitcase out from under his bed and went to his clothes drawer to start packing, but Taron threw a bolt of mental fire in front of him. Kam whirled around, black lightning surging around his clawed fingers and wings spreading wide. "What? You want the glory for catching me, for stopping some made-up demonic invasion!"

"No," Taron said simply. "I merely wanted you to stop be boring and stupid. I've said time and time again that I'm not telling anyone, and still you don't believe me. I have never lied, never been untrustworthy to anyone. But you seem to need proof that I won't say anything. Step back." When Kam stayed standing, Taron threw a ball of mental fire strong enough to knock him onto his bed.

"Now don't move." Taron felt the change traveling through his body, directed it so it was quicker, and curled in on himself when the room started feeling cramped. To his credit, Kam hadn't moved an inch.

"You.. you're a.. a.."

[i]_Dragon? I hope you understand now why I won't tell anyone about you. It is because like you, I would have to run or face those who wish "a dangerous beast" dead if my true nature was revealed.[/i] _He watched as Kam jumped at the voice in his head, and saw the moment he realized it was Taron speaking telepathically.

"Bu.. but how? Dragons are supposed to be extinct! Your should be nothing more than a picture in a Agarthian history book!" Kamenwati shouted.

[i]_A[/i] cambion [i]doubts my existence? Kam, try to be a bit more open minded, it's gets boring talking to people who can't see what's right in front of them. Granted, I'm bored all the time, so that may not be saying much.[/i]_ He stretched his neck to nudge Kam with his snout. [i]_There, do you know I'm real now?[/i]_

"I guess so. It's just that, of all the things I expected to see, a dragon wasn't one of them... Why are you even here? All the stories I've been told say dragons were..." He stopped, obviously thinking it wouldn't be smart to finish that sentence.

[i]_Feral creatures that bring destruction upon all they see?[/i] _Taron finished for him, causing Kamen to cringe. [i]_I'm going to have to tell Uncle students are spreading lies. He won't be able to do much about centuries worth of hatred toward my species, but at least he can try. Mother and Father can help him.[/i]_

"Uncle? Mother and Father? You mean you aren't the only one?" Kamen said, sitting up so he could pay attention better.

[i]_Yes. But I can't tell you anymore than that without their permission, and they would want to know why you know about me, why I would show myself to you in this form. I do not think you are ready for that.[/i]_

"No, I don't think I am. I'm not sure I want to be. Knowing one dragon is one thing, but having him as a roommate [i]_and[/i] _knowing his family? No thanks." He replied as he looked around. "Um, do you know where my armband went?"

Taron stood up as much as he could and looked at the floor. He saw the armband by the dresser, which had been partially hidden by his tail. He used two talons to pick it up and hand it to Kamenwati, who took it back slowly. Taron slipped back to his human form as Kam's illusions came back. He grinned at Kam's expression, forgetting for a moment that he wasn't bored.

"It's not as painful as it looks. You should see what the slower process looks like."

"I'm not sure I want too..." Kam replied as he checked to make sure his armband was hidden perfectly. "It's getting late. Between the Hunt and the post-adrenaline rush crash from seeing a dragon, I'm almost sleepwalking. I'm going to sleep. See you in the morning" He got under the covers of his bed and turned his back to his roommate. The last thing Taron heard as he got into his bed was a joking "Don't make me a midnight snack..."


	5. Chapter 4

The Cure for Boredom - A Taron Sunwake Story

Chapter 4: What the Family Doesn't Know...

Taron woke up to his psicrystal, Ammy, jumping up and down on his chest. As lights as it was, it would have taken Taron a while to notice it even if he was awake, but this morning Ammy's legs came with sharp, painful little points. Okay, maybe not painful, but very annoying to say the least.

"I've told you before to stop waking me like this." Taron said as he caught the crystal in mid-jump.

_I believe your family wishes you to join them for breakfast this morning. I did not wish to disappoint them and have you late. I got the impression that private breakfasts like this are rare._

"Why aren't we eating with the rest of the school?"

_It would appear that once a month the majority of the student-body and the teachers leave to visit their homes. Those that don't go home go into the city to enjoy the food and the change of scenery. Kamenwati left a few minutes ago._

"Where would he go? Outside of the school's wards he'd be found."

_The band members of _Fly Free_ are known to practice in the dining hall during this weekend while they eat. They say the echoes of their music can last for minutes after they stop. You really should be getting ready for breakfast._

Knowing Ammy was right, and that it would just keep annoying him, Taron got up and dressed. After his morning exercises, both mental and physical, Taron left his room. He walked out not into the halls of the school, but the the hallway of his Uncle's house.

_Your father did say he thought Ryo had learned more about the house... I wonder how long it took him to get this just right?_

"Depends on whether or not he cheated and looked into the future for the right way." Taron said as he walked downstairs. He stopped outside the dining room doorway, knowing his human 'cousin' Razule was on the other side of the wall, waiting with what was most likely a harmless vial of liquid. A habit he had keep from his childhood. Taron shook his head and stepped through the doorway, grabbing the vial and tossing it back at it's owner. "Razule, you know you can't get any of us anymore."

"Is that any way to greet your cousin? And don't call me Razule, you know I only let three people call me that. It's been awhile since we saw each other, hasn't it? You're taller." Razzy said as he moved to mess up Taron's hair. Ducking out of the way, Taron sat down at the large, metal table his Uncle had custom made to support the sheer amount of food the family could eat at one sitting. Or, more accurately, what Taron, his siblings, and his mother could eat. Everyone greeted him him warmly(except for Ryo's triplets, who weren't there) and he nodded back at them. That seemed all they needed to start eating, and everyone loaded their plates high with pancakes, cave-flier(really big bats) strips, eggs, and various fruits from Adsila's massive garden. Then the chatter started.

"So, how are the other students?"

"Have you meet any of your teachers yet?"

"Did you know we actually made someone leave dinner last night? I bet he thought we'd try to take his food!"

"I've already been asked to join a club!"

"I think I've got Jiminy in my second alchemy class."

"Have you seen the new flowers I've been growing? A student said they reminded her of the aurora borealis up north and I think I'll call them that. I certainly fits.."

Taron was the only one quiet. Unless directly talked too, he always stayed quiet when eating. He was very good at being a wall-flower and going unnoticed when he wanted to be left alone. Which was all the time unless he needed someone's attention. Unfortunately, today seemed to be one of those days when he couldn't stay out of the spotlight...

"Did you know your son participated in the Snipe Hunt last night? He didn't finish, but the records put him among the best of the students." Uncle Ryo said, looking toward Aananda and Tamrin. They in turn, began to congratulate Jiminy.

"Good job James! How many did you be-" Tamrin started before Ryo cut him off.

"It wasn't him. Taron was the one in the Hunt."

The room went quiet. Taron was never a part of anything like the Hunt. He barely paid attention when his mother was teaching how to fight unarmed! Aananda looked at him, a mix of confusion and joy in her eyes.

"Taron?"

"Yes Mother, I was in the Hunt. I was bored and got challenged by my roommate. He was mad at me, and didn't believe something I had said, so he asked if I would be in the Hunt. Apparently he thought fighting me would prove something. The whole thing got boring real quick, and we ended up leaving soon after that."

"But not before the two of you beat nineteen other students." Ryo remarked. The room was silent for a few moments before his father spoke.

"Nineteen? At once? That's amazing Taron! You should tell us the next time you're going to join a Hunt so we can watch!" The pride in his voice, so rare when he was talking to or about his oldest son, wasn't hard to notice.

"It was a one time thing. I won't be in a Hunt again..."

"Taron, why did he want to fight you? What did you say that he didn't believe?" His mother asked.

Taron started to fill his plate again, taking his time as he piled it high with food again, then stood and pushed his chair in.

"My apologies Mother, but I don't see how it's any of your business. I'll be in my room." Taron left then, leaving a shocked and confused family behind. As far back as they could remember, Taron had never said anything like that.. to anyone! It certainly put a damper on the happy atmosphere in the room. Ammy wasn't particularly pleased either, and he let Taron know it the instant the door to his room closed.

_What was that back there? You don't act like that at all! What happened in that Hunt? You sent me away to learn your schedule and something happened before I got back, I know it! I knew I shouldn't have stopped to look at the chandeliers!_

"Flirting with the other stones?"

_There's that attitude again! You're not the same Taron Sunwake you were before we came here, and I want to why right now!_

"Like I told Mother, it is none of your business." Taron paused for a moment. "I did feel something strange during the Hunt though..."

_Finally, some progress! What was wrong?_

"Nothing was wrong. I felt.. _angry_. It was the first time I'd been anything but bored. It was weird, as Jiminy would say."

_So... you got angry during the Hunt? Don't you think that might be a good thing? I mean, you had an emotional response to something! You know your family's been worried something was wrong with you, even after Ryo searched your mind and found nothing out of place. Now they can stop worrying!_

"No. If they know I got angry, they'll want to know why. Since I won't tell them what happened, they may question Kamen. I made a promise, and I don't break them. I won't have him thinking I did because the Headmaster is asking if something happened."

_Well, if you won't tell them, I will! _Ammy thought at him defiantly, creating a portal and trying to jump through it. Taron's hand shot out and grabbed the runaway crystal just before it landed on the other side. Pulling it back, Taron took back the tiny bit of power he used to give it legs.

"Listen here you glorified pebble, I said they aren't going to know about this! So unless you want to spend a draconic lifetime in a box lined with lead, you won't say anything!" Taron was just as surprised as Ammy was, and after a few moments he dropped the now immobile psicrystal on the bed. "Ammy.. I didn't mean it."

_Taron... you need to talk to someone about this. You have no idea what this could do to you! The control you have over your mental abilities is because your mind has always been stable and clear. If you keep having outbursts like this, they may not stay verbal for long._

"When Mother was training us, nothing surprised me. When Uncle Ryo taught us how to fend off mental attacks, nothing worked against me for long. I've been able to handle everything thrown at me, so I can certainly handle this." He started eating again, not wanting the food to go cold. "Don't tell anyone Ammy."

_Taron, I'll have to if something goes wrong, you know that._

"I know." Taron relented. "But nothing will go wrong. I'm starting to think I haven't changed at all though. I got hit by this weird spell during the Hunt, so all this may just be the aftereffects of it. I'm sure it will wear off soon." This seemed to convince Ammy enough for it to stop pestering him. But Taron had been lying. He had no idea if things would go back to being normal and boring again, and it made him feel something new again... fear.


	6. Chapter 5

The Cure for Boredom - A Taron Sunwake Story

Chapter 5: Ammy was right. Also, a Concert

This chapter involves a little time-warp(and a pun that was intended). One month has past since the events of the last chapter. Bonus points to the first person to find the pun! **0**o**0 **Also, for a friend of mine, something to remind her of our time at GenCon Indy, 2010.

Controlled rage.. that was what Taron felt as he traveled through the halls. His vision was sharp, his hearing perfect. Where were they? Did they think they could treat him like they did and get away with it? In a group they were brave, but he'd find them alone.. What was that scent? He stopped and retraced his steps. He could smell it easily now. Smoke might as well of been wafting down the hall! He set off in search of the scent's source, a girl named Ember with a flare for pyrokinesis. She'd tried to burn his clothing to cinders during class. She had failed. It wouldn't have bothered him at all, if she hadn't done it in an attempt to bully him. After all, it would have been considerably less boring than the teacher. Boredom now gave way to anger.

"Blue is not your color, so how about we try flame-orange?" Her words echoed in his mind, taunting him into moving faster. She'd wanted a reaction of the student who was never surprised. She'd get one now. He slid to a halt as the scent of smoke threatened to overwhelm him. He moved silently around the corner, and thirty feet away she stood there looking at him with a raised eyebrow. She laughed. _Laughed._

"That is one of your worst illusions yet Alder. I thought you weren't going to make those gross monsters anymore."

Taron looked down and saw pale blue skin instead of his normal fair skin, and misshapen claws and talons were his hands and feet should be. Why didn't that bother him? He looked back up at here and saw here laughing again. Something snapped and he lashed out, claws stretching for her. She kept laughing.. until she felt her clothes clinging to her wetly. She hadn't even noticed his attack had been real, so sure that he was just an illusion. She tried to stop the bleeding with her hands as Taron looked on in confusion. The wards.. why was she still here? The wards send injured students to the nurse immediately...

She screamed now, snapping him out of his confusion. She stumbled back and fell, began to push herself away as he moved closer to attack her. She threw her hands up and fire shot at him, scorching his open maw a moment before it closed on her. That snap decision to fight back saved her. She vanished as the wards activated, sending a student with truly violent intentions to Detention. His head jerked as the sound of people running reached his ears, and he turned to run, blood still dripping from the tips of his claws...

Taron gasped as he woke up in a cold sweat. He sat straight up in his bed and looked around wildly. All he saw was Kamenwati, leaning up on one arm and looking at him from across the room. Still trying to blink the sleep from his eyes.

"Taron, man, what's wrong? I usually wake up to you telling Ammy to stop jumping on you."

"It.. it was nothing, just a bad dream." Taron replied as he got out of bed and pulled the wall halfway out so he could get out of his pajamas and into his school uniform with some privacy. He could hear Kamen doing the same on the other side. Almost as an afterthought, Taron checked his nails for blood, and was relieved to find them clean.

"You coming to the concert tonight? _Fly Free_'s playing last, but the other bands are just as good, so it's still a good idea to be there for the whole thing."

"You know that's not my kind of thing."

"Oh come man, you haven't heard us play once, let alone the other bands." Seeing that he wasn't getting through to his roommate, Kamen played his trump card. "You know it's go to be very _boring _while everyone else is at the concert."

"That's not fair, you're making it sound like it _wouldn't _be boring." Taron replied as he finished dressing.

"Almost a thousand students can't be wrong, Taron." Kamen shot back as he pushed the wall back into it's crevice. He smoothed his shirt out and checked to make sure his armband wasn't visible. "You know it won't be as bad as sitting in this room with no one but Ammy for company. No offense Ammy."

_None taken._ The psicrystal replied, having grown to like Kamenwati over the past few weeks.

Eventually, Taron gave in and agreed to go. Then they all went to breakfast to meet Belyu and Su'Ta(his brother Ta'Su couldn't make it this morning), both of which had noticed the huge amount of food Taron could(and did) eat. Su'Ta tried to out-eat Taron again, and again he failed. Not that he let it get to him. After Su'Ta stopped complaining about his stomach, the rest of the day was as boring as all the others had been, and all the next would be. Taron slipped through the moving sea of kids as he made his way to his first class, but after that it all just blurred together...

He regained conscious control of his body as the last bell rang, signaling the end of the day and letting every student and teacher know they could relax. Relax and wait for the concert, now being called _The Band Slam_ by some of the students. Taron returned to his room to find Ammy sorting clothes out on his bed. He blinked. When had Ammy left his side? He hadn't noticed at all.

_Ah, there you are! Get over here and try some of these on! Kamen thought you should at least _look _the part of concert goer._

As Taron looked over the clothes, he grimaced. If anyone recognized him while he was wearing them and unknowingly told someone in his family.. he'd never hear the end of it! He knew how fast that would get boring.

"Ammy..."

_He told me not to let you leave this room until you picked some clothes out._

"So he must be really confident I'll wear any of this if he's ordering _my _psicrystal to keep _me prisoner_." Taron replied, still frowning as he looked over the clothes. "Ammy, I need you to get me something."

A few hours later, Taron was ready. He'd dyed his hair pure black and used enough hairspray to make his hair a fire hazard in an attempt to disguise himself. With the metal-studded vest, the ripped pants, and the blue-black bracers with serpents etched into the metal, he had done a very good job. He even hooked Ammy to a silver chain and shaped the crystal to look like a jagged tooth or claw of some feral beast. He had to admit it(because others would), he definitely looked like he should be at a concert. He sighed as he glanced once more in the mirror.

_Oh come on, you look good! No one's going to recognize you at all! _Ammy thought to him happily.

"Why does that sound more like an insult than encouragement?"

_Because you're looking for an excuse to change back into your normal boring attire?_

"I'm starting to dislike the fact my boredom can be used against me. You burn some dolls one time because you were bored and you never hear the end of it!"

_You built a pyre._

"That's not my point!" Taron growled angrily as he left the room, guessing it was time to head to the second basement(remade by his Uncle to better accommodate the stages and equipment). Sure enough, bits and pieces of lyrics were being played in the hallways and students would sing along as they heard their favorite song come on. Some of them were dressed like him, others normally, and others seemed to like going all out for these kinds of things, wearing short capes and spiking their hair. Ammy even pointed out one girl who had what looked like live bats hanging from her shirt. Taron just shook his head and walked on, until a warning came from Ammy.

_Taron, don't look now, but Ryo's checking students._

Taron silently cursed his luck as he gazed through his bangs toward the front of the line. Why hadn't he seen his uncle before now? He watched closely to see how the students were being 'checked' and was relieved to see their hands were being scanned. If the light turned green, they were let in, if it turned red they were asked to leave.

_I think it checks to make sure your grades are good. I guess poor study habits keep you from school events._

"Will you keep quiet? He could hear you!"

Ammy was silent as Taron was checked and allowed to go in. Neither of them noticed Ryo turn to look at them for a moment before returning his attention to the growing line of concert goers.

As Taron looked around, he was impressed. Instead of just one stage, it seemed there were five, allowing each student to sit were his or her favorite band would be playing while the others were on stage. In the middle of it all was what looked like a large concession stand. A concession stand run by none other than his older cousin Razule and his parents!

"Why do the gods torture me so? Next thing you know Ormarr's going to be handing out schedules!"

_Actually... _Ammy said slowly.

"Oh come on!"

_At least your Grandmother won't be here. _Ammy replied, trying to cheer up the frustrated dragon.

"Yeah, I guess your right. She wouldn't like being around all these people."

_Do you think she still using the scrying mirror that's always focused on the person currently talking about her?_

Taron froze and threw a mental barrier around himself knowing it may already be too late. If his Grandmother was watching the mirror, she'd wonder why someone she didn't recognize was talking about her, seemingly to himself. He just hoped the mirror couldn't get through his Uncle's wards.

"Did you sense anything?"

_No, I think we got lucky. __You _really _don't want your family to see you like this, do you?_

Ignoring the question Taron explored the rest of the area, unconsciously noting paths that could get him out if he needed a quick escape. He was also looking for Kamen, wanting to see a face he didn't have to hide from. And if Kamen didn't recognize him, this ridiculous getup might keep his parents from guessing who he was too.

Ammy spotted him first, laughing with a group of students next to the concession stand. Putting somewhat shaky trust in his new appearance, Taron walked over and stood at the edge of the group, careful to keep the majority of them between himself and his parents. It took awhile, but eventually one of the girls asked him if he needed through to get something, and Kamen looked at him as Taron shook his head. Now that Kamen had seen him though, he realized Kamenwati had no idea who he was, but felt he should. Before anymore attention could be drawn to him, Taron raised a finger to his lips and shifted his eyes to their draconic shape, letting green eyes look upon purple. Then he left.

A few minutes later, as he was grimacing at the Karaoke Hour that started the festivities, Taron felt a hand grab his arm and spin him around.

"You've got some nerve, turning my psicrystal against me like that. Don't think I won't get back at you for it either."

"So it is you! I didn't think you were going to come! I must be growing on you!" Kamen exclaimed a little too loudly. "I can't believe you dressed up and everything.. I thought you might just ignore Ammy and come in the school uniform or something."

"Well you be quiet! It's bad enough I'm here at all without you broadcasting the name of my crystal to the entire student body!" Taron said as he glared daggers at his roomie, who was slowly starting to grin in a way that told Taron he should be running.

"You know... it's kinda boring just listening to the music and watching the bands. Why don't you try some karaoke?"

"No way in the Infinite Layers of the Abyss!" Taron snapped. "Over half of my family is here _right now!_ Do you know what would happen if _even one_ of them recognized me? I haven't lived down the _last_ incident!"

After figuring out all Taron had said, Kamen just smiled again.

"I just have one question. What was the 'incident' that you haven't lived down?"

_He set his siste-_ Taron cut Ammy off with both hands, making very tight fists around the tooth-shaped psicrystal.

"Shut up! I'm not telling him and neither are you, got it?"

"That just makes me want to know what happened even more."

Taron was about to reply(perhaps with a well-placed punch) when a familiar voice sent a shiver down his spine and stopped him.

"Greetingsss boysss, isss there a problem?" His cousin Ormarr asked from behind him.

"No sir, just trying to get my friend here to go up on stage." Kamen replied smoothly. "And you know the fake hissing sound you make doesn't scare me. Never has, never will."

"That may be true, but it seems to have gotten to your friend here. He hasn't moved since I came over."

"Ah, don't worry about, he's just nervous because this is his first school event and he doesn't want to get in trouble and get kicked out or something. He'll get over it."

The half-orc laughed and clapped Taron on the shoulder as the young dragon glared much bigger daggers than before at Kamen.

"Well I hope he gets over it in the next few minutes, I think karaoke singers are being pulled off the stages so the first band can start playing." Ormarr breathed in deeply as he looked over the two boys at the seats quickly being filled by eager students. "I can almost smell the excitement in the air... Good luck when it's your turn Kamenwati." He began to leave, and stopped only to compliment Taron on his serpentine bracers before going to get something to eat.

"So, judging from you reaction, Ormarr's family?"

"Older cousin, and before you ask, he was kind of adopted by my Uncle, who was likewise adopted by my mother as a brother. It's complicated."

"So he's not...?"

"Didn't I just say 'before you ask'? I'm pretty sure I did..."

"Okay, okay, I was just making sure! I was confused a bit, because he's a half-orc and you're not. Anyway, why don't you go get a seat and enjoy the show? I've got to go do one last equipment check before I can do the same, so I'll see ya in a bit. Bye." Kamen said as pushed Taron toward the seats before leaving. Taron just shook his head and slipped into a seat in the last row of _Fly Free_'s section, glad there was still a few empty rows in front of him. He tried to listen to the music, but only managed to get to through the first song before everything blurred again...

Pain, from something very pointy digging into his chest. Taron batted Ammy away, forgetting for a moment Ammy was still on a chain, and came back to reality fully as the point dug into his hand instead.

_Hey! Listen!_

"To what? And I thought I told you to stop stabbing me!"

_You said to stop _jumping _on you to wake you up. You were already awake, just not paying attention. You should be more aware for _Fly Free's _songs, even if you missed the others._

Taron looked up and saw that the students around him were all staring intently at the stage, quiet and excited at the same time. There was a crack of thunder and a gust of wind almost strong to move Taron's heavily hair-sprayed hair, and everyone leapt out of their seats to cheer wildly. Another booming crack of thunder, this one accompanied by a flash of lightning, and _Fly Free_ appeared on stage. Fully dressed to impress, they got an even louder cheer than last time. Taron only had to look to see that Belyu was the singer and Su'Ta was the drummer, but even knowing that Kamenwati was the guitarist, he never would have guessed it from his outfit. Almost the exact opposite of his own, Kamen was wearing what could have once been described as a cleric's vestments. Silver with sky-blue trim, the bottom of the robes had been cut up the middle and sewn into separate legs(with any excess shredded or torn) while the mantle had music notes cut out of it and lined with dark blue thread. Most surprising though, were the wings that were resting on the stage, covered with feathers of blue so faint it was hard to tell their weren't white.

_I understand why he didn't come back now, those wings alone must have taken an hour each to attach!_

"Yeah." Taron said with a smile. He knew Kam had just let his wings out and changed the illusion around him to make them look angelic. Clever, finding a way to relax them in full view. And if anyone looked and noticed the illusion, they'd only think it was to add the wings and enhance the outfit, not hide what he really looked like.

When the music started to play, Taron couldn't help but absorb it all, listening to every change of pitch and tempo, singing along in his mind, becoming completely engrossed... To sum it up, he was terrified when things didn't start to blur together again, overjoyed with each new song, and constantly worried he'd be recognized! Not even close to his usual sense boredom, but now he understood why everyone else loved music so much.

Author Here: If you wish to know the kind of songs are played by _Fly Free_, here's a small selection: Everyone Like Me, Phenomenon, and Puppet(by Thousand Foot Krutch), Into Oblivion(by Funeral for A Friend), The Little Things Give You Away(Linkin Park), and Let Go Control(by Saosin). I know they're not all the same genre, but they just seem to fit, you know? If you have suggestions for other songs, please be sure to mention them in the reviews!

Needless to say, Taron cheered along with everyone else when when the band finished and took a bow, even going a step further than most and tossed a ball of purple fire into the air, getting a wide grin from Kam, who took another bow after spreading his wings to their fullest. Everyone started to leave, knowing the concert was over.

The music may have stopped, but for Taron, it would always be stored away in his memories, there to listen to whenever he wanted...


	7. Chapter 5 and a half

The Cure for Boredom - A Taron Sunwake Story

Chapter 5.5: In Which the Family Talks

Like the last one, there is something special about this chapter. It actually takes place during Chapter 5, but none of the usual characters will be talking at all! Enjoy.

When Ormarr left Kamenwati and his "shy friend" for the concession stand, he wasn't going to get a bite to eat. He was heading for sister-in-law(or whatever she was, they never really figured it out) and her husband, the former of which was looking out at the students with a slightly confused look on her face.

"Something wrong, Aananda?" Ormarr asked, able to guess what was bothering her.

"I'm not sure.. I think there's someone out there I should know, but I'm not seeing or sensing any familiar. Have you noticed any kids who seem.. off, I guess?"

"You mean like going still at the sound of my voice? Yeah, I just meet up with that student, and I think I know why you feel you should know that student. I think you should get Tamrin over here and brace yourself. I've already sent a thought to Ryo, so he'll be here soon." While Aananda went to get her husband Ryo showed up with Ruji flying overhead, the small gray tressym ignoring the students gawking at the soaring cat.

"Okay, I brought Ruji with me. What's so important?"

"Yeah, Ormarr, tell me why I'm sensing something strange." Aananda says, Tamrin in tow.

Okay, okay, I'll show you. Ruji?" He asked, holding his arms out for the winged cat to land in. "Just a few moments ago, I meet a student I didn't recognize(not surprising since so many wear costumes) having what looked like an argument with Kamenwati. Here's what the kid looked like." He began to scratch Ruji behind the ears and as the tressyn purred, it lifted it's wings slightly, an image of the student Ormarr had seen appearing between them.

"This is the student? I don't recognize him either. Seems familiar though.." Tamrin said as he leaned in for a closer look.

"I remember him from the entrance, I thought something was familiar about him too." Ryo commented.

"That's because you _do _know him. He's gone to great lengths to hide himself in plain sight.. from us. I took a deep breath, and under the hairspray and dye, I scented... Ruji, change the hair and zoom in on his face, okay?"

"Why can't you.. just.. tell.." Aananda trailed off as they all realized who they were looking at. "Taron...?"

"Amazing what a change of clothes and hair can do, isn't it?" Ormarr said calmly. Ryo on the other hand(literally!), rolled up his right sleeve and opened a hatch in his mechanical arm, revealing a small screen. Data began to slide across the screen at an incredible pace before...

_**"REQUESTED FILES NOT FOUND."**_

__"The recording of the last Hunt is gone. Even the back-up files are missing. He mumbled as he closed the hatch. "Taron gets into a fight his first day here, won't tell us what it's about, and then Ormarr finds him arguing with Kamenwati, who seemed to be buddy-buddy once they were interrupted. Now the Hunt file has vanished, so we don't have any idea what happened that night! Some one is trying very hard to keep certain events secret..."

"Tamrin, maybe you should talk to him, he may tell you something." Aananda quietly asked her husband.

"Yeah, maybe I should.. Where is he now, Ormarr?"

"It won't do you any good right now," the half-orc said as he pointed to _Fly Free_'s seating section. "He looks completely out of it. _Avalanche's _songs must have gotten boring."

The all turned to see the young dragon staring forward, not even moving to the music, while all the other students seemed to be enjoying themselves.

"Perhaps I should call him to my office?" Ryo suggested.

"Not yet." Tamrin said as he continued looking at his son, wishing he'd _do _something that seemed more... well, more. "Give it a week. I hate to say it, but we have more pressing matters than a school-yard brawl. Ryo, any leads on the creature that attacked Miss Shoru?"

"No, nothing yet. The description given doesn't match any known creature on this Plane or any other you can get to from Agartha. That makes me think it really was another student, one who could conjure or maybe animate something like that, but it doesn't explain why the wards didn't activate until Shoru attacked it."

"So the only thing we can do is keep watching, hoping we can catch it before it attacks again? The other students are going to find out soon and panic!" Aananda said, glad magic was keeping the current band's music low enough for them to talk normally. A student walked up to order a drink and she left long enough to get her one.

"I know Aananda, and I'm doing all I can to find out what's going wrong. You know seeing the future isn't easy, and I have to figure what the tarot readings mean when I'm not looking in the immediate time-line. In the mean time, I've got nanites reworking the wards _and _keeping an eye on things. It's all I can do! You can't follow the psionic trace left behind in the wounds, and we can't have a divination spell cast because the wards will stop them. Even another High Seer would have trouble looking in."

They all looked at each other, knowing they were dangerously close to having to... end the school year prematurely. How could any of them guess that the person behind the attacks was only 100ft away?


	8. Chapter 6

The Cure for Boredom - A Taron Sunwake Story

Chapter 6: The After Party

"So you liked the show?" Kam asked Taron after the concert.

"Yeah... I can remember all of it. If Ammy hadn't started stabbing me, I think I still would have been aware for that music!"

"Well, I heard there's an after party or something up on the third floor the teachers don't know about, you wanna go?" The demon child said with a sly smile.

"If I say no, you're going to tell how boring it would be to go back to the room and sleep, right?"

"I was right about the concert. Well, _Fly Free_'s part anyway!"

"So I guess I'm going whether I want to or not."

"YES!" Kam pumped his fist in the air. "I'm going to show you that boredom is just a state of mind! The night's not over until the last kid collapses!"

"You know, you're awfully cheerful for some one who shouldn't be in the spotlight.."

"Can't let that woman mess with life when she's not here, now can I? I'm in hiding, not solitary. Now let's get going before the halls clog up!" Kamen said as he started pushing the reluctant dragon out of the concert hall and toward the stairs. "Everyone will be going for the elevators, so we can beat them there using the stairs." He seemed to be challenging Taron, and Taron wasn't going to back down now. If he hadn't when threatened, why should he when it was just a game? Trying to be fair, he ran up the steps backwards, and still beat Kamen by half-a-flight.

"How.. *pant* did you.. *pant* do that?" Kam asked when he could talk between breathing.

"Mother keeps us fits so we can defend ourselves. I guess I should train more, I was a bit slow."

"Ah shut up." Was all the reply he got as they went to the classroom. Kamen was cheered as he stepped in, and he was soon surrounded by fans praising him for his music. Taron was largely ignored.

"Amazing, isn't it, how playing a few chords can get you adoration?"

Taron whirled on the strange voice, and saw Su'Ta standing there, looking smug. The eye-patch was on the wrong side though.

"It's.. interesting to meet you Taron, I'm Ta'Su, older brother to Su'Ta and air-tech racing expert. Su'Ta has told me all about you. Even his help makes it hard to figure you out, but I do know one little thing" Ta'Su said slowly, a dangerous tone in his voice. He smiled as Taron's eyes shifted behind his bangs.

"And what is that?"

"Oh no, I'm not going to tell you right away, that wouldn't be any fun. Let's see... you arrived the same day as two new students and two new teachers, each of which look a lot like you, except for the elf, Tamrin. So I know your part of a set. You weren't phased when Kamenwati threatened you, so you can take care of yourself, this is backed-up by the records of the last Hunt, or at least was before they disappeared. Despite the rocky start, you and Kam seem to be good friends now, even eating breakfast together. That means you settled the fight in a very different way then violence. You're also a psychic, but any one that has you in class would know that."

"All of which pales in comparison to the fact I know what you _are._ No one else suspects a thing, but I know you're real-"

Taron had had enough, and lashed out angrily, striking Ta'Su and sending him flying across the room faster than the wards could whisk him away to Detention. Students gathered around the fallen Ta'Su, staring at the cracks left in the wall where he'd hit. Some one had enough sense to speak the word that took incapacitated students to the Nurse's Office before the other students panicked and scattered to get back to their rooms before the teachers got there. Kamenwati looked around for Taron, but couldn't see him anywhere. He put two-and-two together as he sprinted back to their room, wondering what Ta'Su had said that would make his roommate do something like that...

Taron sighed as he floated through the colorless expanse, bored again and unable to blur it out. How can you forget about nothing? He'd been in Detention for five minutes forty-five seconds and counting when his uncle appeared. From the look on his face, he had not expected see his oldest nephew.

"What in the Inner World did you do?"

"Punched that kid Ta'Su hard enough to make him fly back and leave cracks in the wall. You really need to upgrade your wards Uncle, they aren't nearly fast enough."

"Why would you.. What did he.. Agh! Wait here!" Ryo said as he left, shock making him sound angry and keeping him from realizing Taron wasn't going anywhere anyway. The minutes ticked by again and Taron was just starting to see the magic that made this place possible when he was interrupted by another arrival. He recognized these people easily just as easily as he'd recognized Ryo.

"Hello Mother, Father. How are you?"


	9. Chapter 7

The Cure for Boredom - A Taron Sunwake Story

Chapter 7: The Talk

They both stared at him in utter silence, shocked even more than Ryo had been. While the silence became awkward, Taron studied the facial expression of both of them carefully. Aananda's changed between confusion and worry, while Tamrin's was a mix of anger and confusion. Taron could see a little worry in his father's expression, but it was currently being overwhelmed.

"You are going to explain what happened right now." Tamrin's growled, voice thick with anger.

"Or what?" Taron challenged. "What could you possible do to me that would even come close to punishment? I'm not like James or Ephebe, easily punished by taking away something important to me, because there _is_ nothing important to me!"

"A few months ago Taron, you'd be right." His mother said before Tamrin could gather his wits. "But tonight we saw you at the concert. You have a friend now, don't you? Your very first. What would you do if we had you moved to a different room and changed your classes so you wouldn't see him?"

Taron went still for a moment, more surprised by the fact she was right than the threat. Kamenwati was.. a friend? When had that happened?

"That won't work either. Even if you home-school me again, I'll still remember the music. I remember everything I hear, see, do, feel, or think. And if you try to take my memories away, I won't hold back. You may eventually take them, but some one will be maimed."

"Did you just _threaten_ _us?_" Tamrin said, having finally recovered enough to speak. "That is the stupidest thing I have ever heard you say! What's wrong with you? What aren't you telling us?" He moved forward to confront his oldest son up close, but Taron avoided him.

"What's _wrong _with me? Last time I checked, keep the family's big, treasure hoarding secret was a _good_ thing! If I hadn't punched him out, Ta'Su would have said I was dragon in front of the entire party, and we wouldn't be trading threats in this void!"

_That_ shut his parents for a few moments. Aananda was the first to speak again.

"Why didn't you tell us that in the first place?"

"Because instead of being calm and rational, Father's first reaction was anger, and I was bored. Five minutes and forty-five seconds with nothing to look at and being unable to blur it all out. I had to do _something_ to ease the boredom."

"So everything you said.. wasn't true?"

"Except for Ta'Su about to out me, out _all_ of us, what do you think Mother?"

They seemed not to think much about it, because his father apologized and went to tell Ryo to let his son out, while his mother hugged him tightly and asked if he had had any fun at the party. Unfortunately, he had to tell her it had only just started when he'd punched Ta'Su and been sent here.

"I doubt it's still going on though, not after all of this. I don't think any of the students will stay around to get caught at a party the teachers didn't know about. I probably won't get invited to the next one either."

"Oh, I'm sure you will." Aananda reassured Taron, smiling. Then she looked him over again. "So, why did you try so hard to hide from us? If Ormarr hadn't pointed you out to us, we wouldn't have even known you were there!" She tries to brush his bangs away from his eyes, but finds them as stiff as the rest of his hair. "Guess you didn't want anyone to see your eyes easily either.."

"Ammy here," he says as he holds up the purple claw hanging from his necklace, "Had 'orders' from Kamenwati that I wasn't to leave the room until I looked like I should be at a concert. They forced me to go."

_No we didn't! _Ammy thought angrily. _We simply pointed out going to the concert(and the party) wouldn't be as boring as not going to the concert! Don't say I made you dress like that either, because _you _sent _me _to get the dye and hairspray!_

Aananda burst out laughing as Taron swatted his psicrystal hard, stabbing his hand on the point. As he rubbed his hand to ease the pain, color swirled into the blank void and they found themselves standing in his room, a shocked Kamen paused in the middle of putting on his pajama shirt as he tried to figure out how they got in. He quickly finished putting his shirt on when he saw there was a female teacher present, out of modesty.

"Uh.. hey Taron. Hello Teacher Aananda." He said, bowing his head to Taron's mother.

"Kamenwati.. I have learned you are the reason my son was at the concert, and later the party that resulted in his time in Detention. Is this true young man?" Aananda said in a serious voice, eyes cold and agry. Ammy was giggling mentally to Taron, who kept his face blank. He wasn't going to give Kam any sign that his mother was joking, not after he had given Ammy orders.

"Um, I.. I thought he should get out of the room and have some fun, you know?" Kam said, voice weak as he realized what it meant for Aananda to be Taron's 'mother'. He may have been a cambion, but he knew the old stories(even if they got some facts wrong) well enough to know he was no match for a full-grown dragon, let alone an angry mother!

Aananda decided to take pity on the scared guitarist and laughed.

"It's okay Kamenwati, I won't hold the fight against you! You couldn't have know it was going to happen, so why worry? I'm just glad someone got Taron to _do something_ for once instead of sit around complaining he's bored! It's good to know he's got a friend." She said with a smile. "Just try to keep him out of trouble okay? Last time he got really bored we had to put out a funeral pyre for his sister's doll."

"Is _that _what he did? He wouldn't tell me about it at all!" Kam exclaimed, visibly relaxing as Taron groaned inwardly.

"He wasn't supposed to know that Mother. It's bad enough I let it slip that something like that had happened at all."

"Dude, you built a pyre for _dolls! _That's hilarious! How big was it?"

Aananda was about to answer when there was a knock at their door.

_It's your Father and Uncle. _Ammy warned Taron, who immediately pulled his Mother over to the door, opened it, and kind of pushed her through.

"Sorry, visiting hours are over." Taron said to his confused family before closing the door and pushing a dresser in front of it. He turned to find his roommate staring at him with a wide grin.

"Man, your mom is pretty cool. I though for sure she'd rip my head off for getting you in trouble..."

"Under different circumstances, she would have. My parents and Grandmother are very protective of my siblings and I. Grandmother in particular can be very dangerous when angry, since she is old enough to remember the days when our kind were hunted."

"Remind me to never make your family angry." Kamen said with a shudder.

"Trust me, the uncle we don't talk about was worse, and so was the clone of my little brother. Again, long stories that I won't tell. Those family issues were settled a long time ago though, so you don't have to worry."

"A long time ago? How _old_ are you?"

"In human years, I'm in my early twenties, all the stuff I just told you about happened about a year before I was born. In dragon years, that would make me a hatchling, but, except for my grandmother, we're different. I'm about 15 in every other way. An exceptional 15 of course. What about you?"

"I'm not sure anymore.. I lost track of time when.. we 'moved'. I'm probably somewhere around 14~16 years old. The sheet I filled out for the School files has me down as 15, with a birthday in two weeks. Just in time for Last One Standing."

"Another student-body fight?" Taron asked, wondering how many different types of events Avalon had the involved fighting among the students.

"Yeah, but it's different than a Snipe Hunt. It's like a free-for-all that you can enter alone or as part of a team, both of which has advantages and disadvantages. Alone, you can get surrounded, but you don't have to worry about protecting team-mates. If you go in as a team, you can handle greater numbers and have different skills to rely on, but you have to know how to work together or you'll get ripped to pieces."

"Sounds like I'd be going in alone, _if _I wanted to do something like that."

"And miss the chance to have a rematch with me? What's wrong Taron, scared you'll lose again?"

Taron saw the question for what it was: bait. He decided to take it, just to make things less boring.

"I remember that fight ending _much_ differently. You were leaning against a tree _crying _after I punched you in the gut."

"Hehe, that's the spirit! Should be a good fight! I think I'll hold back though, wouldn't want you getting hurt and running to your mommy."

"How about I disabled the magics that record the visual parts of the events and we go all out? I'll have the formula for them by the time you survive long enough to face me!" Taron shot back.

_How about you both make a team and whoever defeats more students wins? _Ammy suggested, trying to stop the conversation before it grew even more and the stakes became even higher..

"You okay with that, Kamenwati?"

"Only if you are."

_Then it's settled. Taron, see if Kam can join you in your hand-to-hand training tomorrow during his free period. I just ran a schedule check and the time's match perfectly. Get to sleep and eat a light breakfast in the morning Kamenwati, or you _will _regret it._

"Is it really that bad?" Kam asked from behind his part of the pull-out wall.

"Yeah.. you probably shouldn't eat anything the first few days, unless you want to see it again. Wear gloves to hide your claws by the way. We don't want you accidentally cutting someone when you spar."

"Okay.."

They got into there beds and went to sleep. Kam dreamed about getting his rear-end kicked tomorrow, or worse, being outed as a cambion. Taron dreamed of.. something else.


	10. Chapter 8

The Cure for Boredom - A Taron Sunwake Story

Chapter 8: Fighting Dreamer

Ta'Su had just left the Nurse's Office, having no serious injuries from Taron's attack earlier. Tired and sore, he was halfway to his room when he heard the softest of growls from behind him. He turned to see a great, blue creature standing there crouched down and ready to spring..

"So it was _you _that attacked that girl.. Interesting. Guess you're after me know, huh? This will be fun." He said as he pressed a button in each shoe, causing serrated discs to slide out of the bottom as blades erupted from the sides. He adjusted his eye-patch and grinned. "I was hoping to test these beauties out before Last One Standing came around."

The beast growled louder and charged, massive claws slashing at the youth. With a laugh, Ta'Su jumped up and flipped over the creature, blades slicing through several of the thick spikes on it's back. In anger and pain, the abomination glowed for a moment and then skated after the retreating Ta'Su, it's clawed feet slick with psionic energy. Every slash of it's claws was meet with the cutting steel of Ta'Su's air-tech, making it angrier and it's attacks more wild.

Then Ta'Su went on the attack. He slipped past the flailing arms and, bracing his hands on the floor, kicked the thing's chest, the serrated discs ripping through flesh and spraying dark gray fluid everywhere as the creature fell backward. It hissed as it struggled to it's feet, blood pouring from the ragged, gaping wound in it's chest.

"Get over yourself." Ta'Su sneered. "What little control you had had was lost, and you have not an ounce of grace or speed. You lost this fight when you chose to hunt me, someone who doesn't have to worry about the wards that prohibit fighting. You expected someone who would scream and try to run, didn't you? You need to.._._"

"Wake up Taron! C'mon, wake up already!" Kam said as he shook whose roommate, worried when Ammy's sharp legs and jumping hadn't done the job. Almost roaring, Taron jerked out of his sleep and wrapped his hands around Kam's throat, face twisted in anger. Surprisingly, Kam didn't flinch as crushing fingers tried to close off his windpipe. "Taron, let go, it was just a dream. You need to calm down right now before the wards recognize this as an attack against a student." He whispered sternly. "I'm your friend, so trust me when I say you are not in any danger."

After a few tense moments, Taron came to his senses and, horrified by his actions, quickly let go of Kamenwati's neck and backed up against the wall.

"I-I'm s-s-orry." He stammered, staring with wide-eyes at his shaking hands. "I.. I just.."

"Don't worry about it man, I get the whole 'It seemed so real' thing. It happens to everyone eventually. It happened to me for weeks after I.. left home. It's one of the reasons I didn't have a roommate until you showed up."

Taron nodded to show he had heard, but he was still obviously shook up by the whole thing. He had never felt so angry before, had never wanted to end someone's life like that. What made it worse for him though, was that his 'victim' had been Kam.

_But why does that make it worse? _He thought careful to hide his thoughts from Ammy(and anyone else who might have been listening). _I should feel bad about, he is a friend after all.. but then again, how would I know? This might just be how friends feel after they hurt their friends._

"C'mon, let's get dressed and go to breakfast. We've got a big day to look forward to, since I get to see how I'm going to learn to fight without a weapon. It should be an interesting day." Kam said as he pulled the wall out so he could dress in private. Taron realized why it hurt to think about hurting his roommate as he moved to get dressed as well, and it was something that struck him like a falling mountain.

He had imprinted on Kamenwati.

Author's Note: In the imagined world of Agartha, gem dragons like Taron 'imprint' on certain individuals. In human terms: the find their soul-mate. This is the only person they will love for their entire life, no matter what happens. This can backfire though, because the feelings do not have to be returned, or the individual may not live as long as the dragon.

The means that imprinting was(and still is) something the dragon has no control over. It's basically the species way of continuing the species(which is a part of why Taron reacted the way he did).


	11. Chapter 9

The Cure for Boredom - A Taron Sunwake

Chapter 9: Freaking Out

After Kam had turned a corner and couldn't see him, Taron ran back to his room and locked the door before huddling on his bed against the wall. Ammy wouldn't stop asking him what was wrong, so it was thrown across the room.

_Okay. I need to go through everything I remember since meeting him, which is everything. _He thought, trying to stay calm. Unfortunately, since he hadn't had any emotions until after he meet Kam, and then he'd been too worried about actually having them to pay attention to anything else, he wasn't able to remember anything that might tell him when he'd imprinted. That realization broke his calm demeanor and he ran from his room, warping the magic so he'd be in his uncle's house instead of the school, and dashed outside. He kept running until he found the family's collection of skimmers(a mix of hover cars and bikes) and grabbed one at random to take him into town.

What was he supposed to do? He had never thought he'd imprint, and certainly not to.. This wasn't something that had happened before, because his grandmother would have said something about it if it had, so it wasn't like there was anyone he knew that he could ask.. That's when he noticed something.

The scenery around him wasn't boring him. In fact, he felt ashamed that he had never seen the land like this before. The wind rushing around him as he was riding, the feeling of fresh air filling his lungs, the way the colors complimented each other naturally... it was amazing, but it only made him feel more worried. Too many things were happening or changing in his boring world, and that wasn't something he was capable of handling very well, if at all. Felling overwhelmed, Taron decided to go and do something others did when they wanted to get rid of feelings: drink alcoholic beverages.

He drove through the city at a startling speed, a trait inherited from his mother, and weaved through traffic like it wasn't there until he parked the small skimmer in front of the _Drunken Dwarf Tavern. _Walking inside, he felt magic wash over him and realized his age had just been checked. Looking around, he saw that this place was more of a club than a tavern, but didn't mind. He went up to the bar and sat down.

"I need something that will burn my throat on the way down. What do you have?" He said, slipping a perfect, marble-sized ruby sphere onto the bar.

"Ain't you a bit young ta be drinkin'?" The bartender asked gruffly as he inspected the ruby with a critical eye. "I don't be serving no minors here, even if they got gems."

"I'm old enough to be drinking, and I know that magic in the door checks age. If you don't want to serve me though, I'll take my ruby back and go somewhere that will." He reached for his gem, but the bartender pulled his hand out of Taron's reach.

"Somethin ta burn yer throat, eh? I got some fire brew that'll do that." He pocketed the gem and got Taron his first drink.

Back at Avalon, Kamenwati walked into the hand-to-hand combat class and couldn't find his roommate anywhere. Even his mother, the teacher for this class, had no idea where he was. According to the other teachers, she explained, no one had seen him all day. She wanted to go look for him, but she had classes to teach and he _had _done this before..

Kamen wasn't about to let that stop him from finding his friend though, and since this _was_ his free-period, he went off to search for him on his own. His first stop was, of course, the room they shared. It wasn't until he saw Ammy laying on his bed that he began to worry.

_I'm glad you're here Kam, do me a favor and fix the necklace? Then we can go find Taron together and find out why he was acting, well, unlike Taron! Something is really wrong, I know it! No matter what, Taron has never left me behind like this, never thrown me away like some pebble..._ Kam heard sadness in the thoughts of the psicrystal. There was some worry mixed in there too. As he welded the broken chain back together with his lightning, Kam worked up the will to ask a question he wasn't sure he wanted the answer too.

"Do you think he left because of what happened this morning? He's strong, but he didn't hurt me at all."

_I'm not sure why he left. All I could sense was a mix of jumbled emotion.. I've never seen him like that, never seen him so confused and angry and depressed. As shocking as it was for him when he figured it out, you _are _his friend, his very first if you don't count family. I think he hurt himself more this morning than he could ever hurt you._

"Then I guess it's time to go and knock some sense in him, huh? You can find him once we're off school grounds, right?" He asked as he put Ammy around his neck. "We need to move fast if we're going to get him back before the next class starts."

For Taron, they couldn't move fast enough. A man had decided to make it his momentary purpose in life to find out why Taron was drinking enough to have hangovers for a month.

"Come on kid, what's go you so glum, did you fail a test at that fancy school? Rival kick your rear at checkers?" Not getting a response, the man decided to changed tactics. "You a doppelganger that wants to be a real human?"

"Argh!" Taron almost screamed as the man's incessant pestering continued. "You want to know, you really do? Fine. I just found out I love someone who can't possible feel the same way about me! Do you have any idea what it's like to know the one person you'll love will never return the feelings you have?"

"No.." Said the man as he held his hands up in defense. "But then again I never had to worry about it. But kid, it's probably just a crush. Is she really popular or something? You may just like the idea of her."

The exasperation Taron felt toward this man knew no bounds.

"So can you tell me anything more about how he was acting this morning after we left, anything at all?" Kam asked as he drove a 'borrowed' skimmer toward the city.

_Well, after he went back to the room he got on his bed and curled up next to the wall._

"Damn, that can't be a good sign. I hope he doesn't do anything stupid before we can find him."

_What if he does something stupid _when _we find him?_

Kamenwati's only response was to speed up...

The man was drunk now, that much was clear.. The fool had thought that, because Taron had already drained five-and-a-half bottles of _Emerald Blaze _and was still sober_, _it wasn't a strong drink. It finally got to the point that Taron just nudged him and the drunkard fell off his stool to sleep on the floor. Three bottles later, he heard a very familiar voice in his head and cringed.

_There he is, at the bar!_

Taron didn't move as he felt a hand turn him around, but he was surprised when he saw that Kam had come looking for him instead of his parents.

_Maybe he.. no. He doesn't. _The young dragon thought, squashing the hope before it could be shattered.

"Taron.. what the hell, man? I told you I was fine, so why are you here making the bartender a fortune? So you had a bad dream and attacked me when you woke up. So what? I can handle that with ease!"

"Leave me alone. I hate you." Taron replied bluntly, his heart aching with every word.

_He's lying Kamen! There's something he's not sa- Don't let him grab me! _Ammy thought desperately as Taron lunged for it. Kamen backed away just in time and held the psicrystal protectively as he looked at Taron incredulously. To his credit, Taron managed to look completely bored before pushed past his roommate and almost broke the tavern's door off it's hinges as he ran away as fast as he could. Cursing, Kamen chased after him, leaving a confused bartender behind.

Taron, scared as he was of being caught before he could figure things out, kept running into people and being slowed down enough for Kam to keep up. Sensing that his roommate was about to grab him, Taron darted into an alleyway at the last minute. Once Kam realized Taron was no longer in front of him, he turned around and went into the alley after him.

He was greeted by the sight of Taron pinned up against a wall with a knife to his throat.

"Give me the rest of the jewels you have boy, or I'll have you grinning from your throat." The man from the tavern said dangerously, obviously not as drunk as he would have had others believe. Taron just stood there, still not thinking clearly. "I guess that means I get to make you smile."

"Like _hell _you do!" Kamen said as he flew down the alley and slammed into the man, knocking the knife out of his hand and pinning him down as he pummeled the man unconscious. He stood and found Taron staring at him, the strangest look in his eyes and a small nick on his neck.

"Now.." Kam said as he looked at his roommate. "What is going on!"

"It's nothing. Go away and leave me alone." Taron said quietly after a moment, though each word tore at him.

_He's lying you know. _The forgotten Ammy thought. _Whatever it is, he doesn't want you to leave. I can sense his emotions as clearly as he can, and it hurt him to.. say.. Io's Hoard! Taron, have you done what I think you've done?_

Kamenwati looked between the amethyst hanging from his neck and the one standing in front of him, completely confused. What was Ammy talking about, and why was Taron shaking?

_Taron, answer me.. please.._

"Yes." Taron slid down the wall until he was sitting on the ground, arms wrapped around his knees.

_But that's a good thing! You should be ha- _ The psicrystal started to say before Taron cut him off.

"Shut up! Don't you remember what Grandmother taught all of us about imprinting? This shouldn't be possible!"

_ She was explaining what her kind went through when imprinting. You are not like your grandmother though. You may be a dragon, but you're also human. Since when did humans listen to others when it comes to matters of the heart?_

Taron had to admit that Ammy had a point, but that didn't make him feel any better. Ammy could be wrong after all. Kamenwati, putting the pieces together, figured out that Taron was freaked out because he had a crush. That's easy enough to handle, right?

"Okay Taron, get up and tell me which girl you have a crush on." Kam said as he pulled Taron up by his arm. The young dragon let himself get pulled to his feet, but he didn't say anything or even make eye contact with his roommate. "Come on man, you can tell me! Is it Belyu?" He teased. This went on for a few more minutes before Taron had finally had enough and threw him to the other side of the alley.

"It's _you, _you unperceptive idiot!" He cried out angrily before storming off. As Kamen got off the ground and went after Taron, he failed to notice the man he'd knocked out sit up and grin. Taking out a small gray datapad, he sent the following message.

"Target acquired."


	12. Chapter 10

The Cure for Boredom - A Taron Sunwake

Chapter 10: The Chase is On!

Taron, having a head start and a substantially clearer head than Kamen at the moment, got to his skimmer and was speeding off by the time Kamen got to his own.

_We can't catch him now, he's too good at getting through crowds untouched and the roads are almost jammed. _Ammy thought to Kamen sadly.

"That's not true, not if we don't take the roads." Kam said as he walked quickly into an alleyway. His hands went to his sides, sliding into the near-invisible slits in his shirt and undoing the bindings that kept his wings in place. "Hold on."

_ Is that supposed to be funny? _Ammy thought.

"No, it's supposed to distract you as I take off." And with a mighty flap of his bat-like wings, Kamenwati did just that, surging up into the air and high above the surrounding buildings. He flapped hard a few more times until he could spot Taron, then flew off after his fleeing roommate.

_ Since when do you have wings!_

Ignoring the questions, the demon-child followed the were-dragon, who was indeed maneuvering the skimmer skillfully through traffic.

"Okay, explain what's going on Ammy."

_Answer my question first._

"Since I was thirteen. Now explain! Don't leave anything out either, I already know what he is."

_You what! How do you- Now is not the time for that. Okay, so you know Taron's a dragon, but did you know when they find the person they love in a non-family way, that is the _only person_ they will ever love that way?_

"No, I didn't, but what does that have to do with what's happening now?" Kamen asked, still not fully grasping the situation.

_You need to know something else. A dragon does not choose who they love they way a human would. They imprint on a person. It's a biological reaction that ensures that they will find someone to love. They will love that individual for their entire lives, no matter what happens. The person Taron Sunwake has imprinted on.. is you Kamenwati._

For a moment, Kamenwati processed this new information and all seemed clear to him. Then he realized just what it meant and he stopped flying, loosing altitude at an alarming rate.

_Kamenwati, I'd rather not meet the ground at this speed! PULL UP ALREADY!_

After a few more moments off Ammy screaming at him mentally, Kam got the message at pumped his wings hard until they were back at a safe height. He found Taron and winged that way.

"Why.. why didn't he tell me?"

_I don't think he knew. Well, I'm sure he did on some level, because he started to feel things other than boredom after he met you, didn't he? Anger, happiness, all after he met you. No one thought he'd ever imprint you know, because he showed no interest _at all_ in _anything_. I think the only reason he cried when he was born was because he was bored of not being able to._

"So he loves me.. like.. like the birds and the bees love?" He asked slowly as they left the town behind and he began to descend toward Taron.

_Love does not need to be physical Kamenwati. I would think you are old enough to realize that. But yes, that is one of the easiest ways to explain it. Another way would be husband and wife, or husband and husband in this case. Are you okay with that?_

Was he? He didn't really know. When most kids were figuring out who and what they liked, Kam was learning how to rip through a demon's abdomen with his claws and how to torture using his lightning. His 'lessons' hadn't left any time for him to figure himself out. Yet another thing he hated his mother for.

"I don't know, honestly. I.. don't know. Even if I'm not though, I can still be there for him. Hold on."

_Oh come on! _An indignant Ammy thought loudly at him as his suddenly dived the rest of the way to his roommate and lifted him off of the skimmer in one fell swoop. Taron immediately began to struggle, which caused Kamenwati to lose control and made all three of them to crash, skidding to a halt not to far from where the skimmer had stopped.

"Let go of me before I make you, Kamenwati!"

"Stop acting like an idiot and talk to me before I knock you out!"

_Take the necklace off first so I don't get broken!_

Both of the boys stopped each other and looked at the purple crystal. The fight drained out of them as Kam slid away and unhooked the necklace's clasp. He handed Ammy back over to Taron.

"Um.." Kam said as he shuffled his wings around, suddenly uncomfortable. "I.. uh.. Ammy kind of explained everything as I was flying."

"Oh.. you flew? In the city were anyone could have seen you?"

"You had a head start and I wouldn't have caught you on my skimmer so, yeah, I flew. We have to go back and get that one by the way."

"That's.. thanks Kam." Did Kamenwati even realize how much trouble his demonic wings could have gotten him into? "Kam, why did you come after me?"

"Because your my friend Taron, and I was worried. I thought maybe you were still freaked out over what happened this morning." He paused as he noticed Taron cringe. "I wanted to make sure you got over it okay."

"I really didn't mean to do that.. The nightmare was just so.." Taron drew his knees up to his chest and wrapped his arms around them. "Man it feels so weird to feel."

"You'll get used to it. I'll help you get through it, okay?"

"You're pretty understanding about all of this. Are you sure Ammy explained _everything _to you?"

"He did, but he didn't have to. Knocking me into a wall and saying 'It's you, you unperceptive idiot' is something that helps you put two and two together." Seeing the worried look in Taron's eyes again, Kam moved closer and put an arm around his friend. "You didn't hurt me Taron."

"But I _could_ have! I wasn't in control and if it had been anyone else things wou-" Taron was cut off by a sudden, impulsive kiss on the cheek from Kamen.

"But it _wasn't_ someone else, was it? It was me, someone who already knew what you were and was worried about you because you wouldn't wake up and seemed to be having a nightmare." He said quietly. Taron just stared.

"You kissed me. Does.. does that mean anything?"

"I don't know yet. I didn't exactly have the sort of home life that encourage figuring that sort of thing out, you know? I figure I can at least try to find out though, and if it helps you, all the more reason to do so."

Taron stared at his roommate for just a moment more before giving him a crushing hug.

"Taron.. can't.. breath.." Kam joked.


	13. Chapter 11

The Cure for Boredom - A Taron Sunwake

Chapter 11: Back to School

Eventually, the Draconic Hug stopped and Kam could breath again. They both leaned back and looked up, seeing the rock ceiling that separated this world from the Above. After a while, Taron turned to Kam.

"Shouldn't we get back? The school's wards don't extend this far, you could be found."

"Damn, you're right! We still need to go get the other skimmer too!"

"Don't worry about it, Ammy can drive." Taron said as he walked over to his skimmer and got on. Ammy, unhooked from his necklace, hopped through a portal and disappeared. "Are you going to fly back or do you want a lift?" Taron asked.

"I think I'll stick with you for now. I don't want to have to chase after you again." He said with a smile. "I haven't exercised my wings enough lately to be flying after a speeding skimmer twice in one day. Help me put them away first, okay?" He took his shirt off and turned so Taron could put his wings back in the bindings.

Taron's breath caught. He knew it was just an illusion, but still.. He swallowed and grasped a wing at the edge, slipping the straps in place and repeating the process for the other wing. As he finished, he ran his fingers across Kam's back, feeling the scales that stopped just below his shoulder blades, feeling the skin below the scales. He heard Kamenwati gasp, felt muscles tense under his touch, and jerked his hand away.

"Sorry.."

As the last clasp was closed, Kam felt Taron's fingers on his back, tracing lightly over the magic-hidden scales before going over the skin below them. The sensation caused him to gasp and he tensed up involuntarily. The hand went away and he heard Taron mumble an apology.

"It's okay Taron, I just wasn't expecting it, that's all." It sounded like a pathetic excuse even to his own ears. He tried to fix it, to say something better, but he couldn't think of anything. Instead he slipped his shirt back on. Taron just nodded as he help his roommate onto the skimmer. He turned the engine on and away they went, speeding back to whatever classes they had left.

Taron's Uncle Ryo was waiting for them.

"Have a nice adventure?" He asked the youths.

"Not like the ones _you_ used to have Uncle. Did you ever check to see if that giant armadillo's shell still had that crack? Poor thing was only defending it's territory too."

"Uncle?" Kam said, surprised. How many of members of Taron's family were here?

"I'm not the one in trouble here." He glanced at Kam. "Eleven in all. His grandmother doesn't work in the school. Taron," he said as he looked back to his nephew. "I got some pretty strange rumors about a kid matching your description downing several bottles of _Emerald Blaze_ without getting drunk. Care to explain why you were drinking?"

"I was bored with what you have to drink here, and wanted something different." Taron replied as he slammed shields around Kamen's mind and his own. Not a moment to soon either.

"I trained you too well it seems. Kamenwati, do you know why he went drinking?" Ryo asked, trying to keep his surprise at finding a shield around Kam's mind too.

"Like he said, he was bored." Kam said, unable to look the Headmaster of Avalon in the eye. "I only went after him to make sure he didn't get into trouble."

"What really hap-" Ryo was cut off by Taron.

"No one got hurt, no one found out about me, and we're back now. So stop asking stupid questions alright? And stop trying to get into people's minds without asking, it's rude."

"If you'd tell me what happened, I wouldn't have to. It's my job to know why any student acts strangely, like you did by leaving schools grounds on a stolen skimmer to go to a bar and drinking your weight in alcohol."

"You know for a fact if I had drank my weight you would have gotten a _much _different version of what you heard."

"Really, because I heard he ran from the bar when a kid with brown hair got to him, then ran into an alley which he emerged from about a minute after the other kid followed him, crying. I only heard you cry once Taron, just after you were born. So what made you cry today?"

"It wasn't me. I didn't drink my weight, remember?"

Ryo changed tactics, since he obviously wasn't going to be able to get his nephew to talk.

"Kamenwati, what would your mother think if she knew you were lying to the Headmaster?" This provoked a very sudden change in Kam's attitude. He'd been confident, if a little nervous, that they could talk their way out of this. But now he was pale, dangerously so. If Headmaster Ryo tried to contact his mother and succeeded, he was as good as dead.

Taron's attitude changed as well. His face got red as he felt anger rising in him. Ryo may have been only bluffing, but that was a serious threat against the guy he loved. He lashed out, intent on at least breaking one bone, only to have his fist caught by Ryo's right hand. Taron was strong, but his uncle's cybernetic arm was stronger.

"What in the Inner World was that?" Ryo said, staring at his nephew incredulously.

"That was a punch, which you stopped, which you should know has left you open to another punch." Taron replied as he attacked again. This time his fist connected, but he had to settle for making his uncle slide back a few feet.

"Your mother throws boulders at my Taron, and that's just the light workout. Tell me what's going on right now or I'll bring in the entire family to talk this out."

"Don't you ever threaten to contact his mother again!" Taron almost shouted. "You don't know.." He trailed off and looked at Kamen, his expression showing that he was worried he'd said too much.

"It's okay Taron, that part wouldn't have stayed secret long, and I probably should have said something right away. Headmaster, I'm actually hiding from my mother. She's not the nurturing type."

"Okay, you're going to have to elaborate later. What I want to know now is why Taron was willing to punch me when I asked what she would think. He could have just said no and let you explain after all. Is there something I should know?"

Suddenly Taron was afraid. What could he say? Was it even imprinting? What if the same thing that caused him to be bored most of his life was the same that made him imprint on another male? _What if he grew bored with Kamenwati?_

Luckily, while Taron was busy panicking mentally, Kamen answered.

"He's a good friend sir. I admit that we got off to a rocky start, but we sorted it out. From what I understand, I'm his first friend right? He just overreacted trying to defend me. As for why he went to the city, we got into a fight over something stupid. I thought he would just go to his classes and calm down, but when I went back to our room to get a book, I found Ammy and he said Taron was gone. Everything except the crying part is true."

"Was that so hard? Go on inside, classes are almost over today, so just relax, okay?" He stepped aside and open the door for them. After they had hurried inside, he leaned against the door and flipped open a panel on his metal arm, revealing a screen.

"Call Aananda and Tamrin Sunwake. Subject: Taron."


	14. Chapter 11 and a half

The Cure for Boredom - A Taron Sunwake

Chapter 11.5: Another Family Talk

"Call Aananda and Tamrin Sunwake. Subject: Taron." He waited a few moments and began talking immediately when he saw their faces fill the screen. "Taron's hiding something from us, something big, and his roommate is helping him. Aananda, you said Kamenwati was looking for Taron in your hand-to-hand training class, right?"

"Right. Why do you ask?"

"Did he say anything about a fight he and Taron had gotten into?"

"No, he was just wondering where Taron was. I told him he sometimes skips his classes and disappears for a few hours. Why?"

"Because it turns out Taron went into the city and drank a lot of _Emerald Blaze._ Something happened that they aren't telling us. Taron even put shields around their minds so I couldn't read them. When I asked Kamenwati what his mother would think if she knew he was lying to the Headmaster, he went pale while Taron attacked me. Turns out Kamenwati isn't on the best of terms with his mother. It explains why he paled like that, but the only explanation I got for the attack was Taron overreacted to a supposed threat against his 'first friend'. That sound like the normal Taron to you?"

"No.. it doesn't." Tamrin said. "But think about this, since we've been here, Taron hasn't been acting like he usually does. He went to a concert, the after-party of the concert where he knocked a kid out, had an actual argument with us in Detention where he _threatened us_, and now he's running to the city to drink and defending his friend. Do you think maybe he's acting this way because he's becoming more like a.. a normal kid? I love my son but, when things calm down and he's used to being this way, I can't be the only one who will see this as an improvement."

"Tamrin!" Aananda exclaimed.

"Look, Aananda, you were worried all the things that happened while you were pregnant with the triplets would effect them, right? Then, while Taron was growing up, you blamed yourself for the way he was, didn't you? Doesn't it feel good to know it wasn't our fault?"

Aananda's face went blank for a moment as she thought about it, then her face left the screen and Ryo could see her tackle Tamrin out of his part of the screen. It took a few moments for them to reappear, and when they did, Aananda was hugging Tamrin very tightly and tears were running down her face.

"Hey Ryo, call the others too, okay? I'm going to need backup if we're going to peel her off me long enough for her to form sentences."

"You got it, Tamrin. We'll be there in a minute. Try to keep breathing until then, okay? I want everyone's opinion on this." Ryo said with a grin as he cut the connection. He spoke to the blank screen again. "Call: Adsila, Ormarr, Razule, Keaton, and Ruji." He waited for a few moments before continuing. "Hey guys, I'm calling a family meeting. Something big is happening, and it's either time to celebrate or investigate..."


	15. Chapter 12

The Cure for Boredom - A Taron Sunwake

Chapter 12: More than Roommates

Taron and Kamen practically fell into their beds as soon as the door was closed. Then they both started laughing uncontrollably. They'd been so close to getting caught in the lie, so close to having their secret get out that now that they were safely in their room, they couldn't help but laugh. Neither one of them had ever really laughed like this before, and it felt so good and relaxing just to lay on their beds and enjoy the feeling that they never wanted to stop.

But even demons and dragons must take a break from laughter eventually, and when they finally stopped the reality of the situation came crashing down on the happy atmosphere of the room like a thunderstorm. Kamenwati was the first to speak.

"Um.. does this mean we've got to share a bed now?" He asked.

"Do.. do you want to?" Was Taron's reply.

"I don't know."

There was an awkward silence that seemed to last forever until Taron finally worked up enough courage to talk.

"Do you want to?"

"Want to what?"

"Know."

"Oh." Kamenwati had to think about that. On the one hand(clawed in his case), he'd never done anything like that before. On the other hand though, he remembered earlier, just after Taron had put his wings back into the straps... "Yeah, I guess.. We're locking the door though."

Taron almost flew across the room to hug him. Luckily for Kam, he managed to compromise and sit up on his bed instead. He could tell how hard this was Kamenwati to accept, and that hurt.

"Kam.. If it would help make you more comfortable with all this, I could show you what I feel. I just need permission to link our minds together for a few moments."

"Link our minds? Taron.. I appreciate the offer, but I wouldn't want anyone linked to my mind. I'm still amazed I'm not some insane demon general in an army of the Abyss. The memories I have.."

"Don't you get it? I don't care about all that! My past, your past, why does that have to matter _now_? Kamenwati, you are strong!" He got out of his bed and started walking across the room toward his roommate. "You lived in the Abyss for _nine years_ and kept from becoming an evil maniac, you escaped the Abyss _by yourself,_ you came to a place where you could be found out _every single day_ by anyone and you _started a band_ in spite of all of that!" He was now standing at Kam's bed, looking at him with a fierceness in his eyes so bright they glowed. "You forget that this will be a two-way street, and that I'm taking a risk just like you are. I may see everything you remember, but you will see years of boredom, of seeing things that are amazing, wonderful, exciting, and terrifying _to anyone and everyone except me!_ Delicious foods? Bland. Music that can bring you to tears? Off key." He stood there, remembering all the things over all the years he'd been bored, and it almost overwhelmed him. He didn't even noticed he'd been falling until he felt someone catch him. He looked up and his eyes met Kamen's.

"Taron.. I didn't know, man. If you want to do this.. just don't take too long, there are some things in my mind I don't want you see."

With help, Taron stood up long enough to sit down on Kam's bed. He took a few meditative breaths to calm himself and his mind before he felt he was ready to go further.

"Okay, you need to clear your mind and let down as many barriers as you know you have up. Can you do that?" Kamen nodded, and did as he was told. "I'm going to start okay? You need to stay calm and focus on what you're seeing." He leaned forward and pressed his forehead to Kam's.. and they were linked.

The memories that Taron saw first were of a happy life, Kam and his mother living in a bustling city, friends with everyone, despite the fact they were both tieflings. Then he saw a man and the mental 'music' changed abruptly. From there, things just got worse. Going to the Abyss, seeing Pazuzu for the first time, being trained to maim and kill and torture.. Taron quickly moved on to more recent memories. He felt the fear Kam felt as he escaped his the Citadel that had been his home for nearly a decade, his euphoria at being free, the safety of being in the school. These were good memories. He felt a surge of happiness when he saw the memory of when he'd had his hand on Kam's back, and the feeling his roommate had experienced.

The memories Kamenwati saw were vastly different. The boredom burrowed deep into his psyche, crushing all other emotions. Years and years of a boredom so strong he couldn't understand why _Taron_ wasn't insane. Then different memories poured in. He saw himself, rushing across the room and grabbing someone by the shirt. He recognized this as the first time he'd meet Taron. He saw himself looking horrified and trying to run away. That was the fight during the Hunt.

Then he felt something unlike anything he'd ever felt before. The feeling was so.. so _bright._ It filled his body, mind, and soul. It took him a moment, but he figured out this was the love Taron felt for him. This love.. it wasn't what he expected. He didn't even know he had started crying. He felt the hurt Taron had felt back in the alley, when he thought Taron just had a crush on some girl. He saw himself through Taron's eyes and all the uncertainty from before washed away. He backed away, breaking the link.

"Taron.."

"Kam.."

"That was-" They both started to say at once, both of them stopping at the same time to let the other talk. They both laughed at how normal that was.

"I don't know what to say Taron. I can't imagine how you could go through all that and still be the same awesome guy sitting next to me."

"I could say the same thing. In fact, I will. I can't imagine how you could go through all that and still be the same awesome guy sitting next to me."

"I guess we're just that strong." Kamen said, grinning. "So when do we tell people? I can't say I'm not nervous telling your family. Thinking about being in a room of thoroughly surprised dragons isn't a calming thought."

"It won't be full of dragons. There's only four more besides me. The rest are sort of adopted family. Do you want to know who is family before we tell them?"

"No., but I don't think we should tell anyone just yet. We should get used to this first, shouldn't we?"

"Yeah, you're right. I'm going to have to act bored too, or everyone's going to know there's something up."

Kamenwati suddenly jumped up and, after pulling Taron off of the bed, flipped the covers on the side of the bed away from the wall up. He then walked to the other side and started pushing.

"What are you doing?"

"Pushing my bed to the middle of the room so that when you do the same we can have one big bed to share."

Taron got to work moving his bed immediately.


	16. Chapter 12 and a half

The Cure for Boredom - A Taron Sunwake

Chapter 12.5: Taron Talks to Ryleh

That night they slept side by side, holding hands. It was the kind of deep, contented sleep you can only have with someone you love and trust completely, filled with gentle dreams.

Taron woke up first, if only if by a few moments. Those few moments were enough for him to think about something that was bothering him though. He'd been told imprinting was the way amethyst dragons ensured their species continued. How did he imprint on Kam then? There definitely wasn't any way for them to have children! He sat up as Kamen woke up.

"I know it's a free day Kam, but I need to go talk to someone for a bit?"

"Ugn.. why?" Came the sleepy reply. Taron waited for him to wake up fully and rub the sleep from his eyes.

"It's just.. my kind are supposed to imprint to keep the species going, you know? So I want to know why I fell in love with you. It's not that I doubt it happened, it's just that I want to know why. Please understand that."

"After last night Taron, trust me when I say that I understand. The way you feel about me was so _bright_ that it pierced the dark in me, washing away the uncertainty. Now the light can shine through as bright as yours, for the same reason as yours." He leaned over and kissed Taron softly on the cheek. "I'll be here when you get back, there's something I want to do too. Besides, someone has to push the beds apart in case we get visitors." He said with a smile as he got out of the bed and started pulling his back to his side of the room.

"I'll see you later then. Bye Kamenwati."

"Bye Taron."

As he left, Taron found it was harder than he had thought to act bored. He found himself looking at the paintings in the halls and the carvings in the walls. He noticed subtle things too, like the faint scent of this mornings breakfast wafting up through the vents, and the every little sound echoed in the empty halls. He hadn't realized how early it really was until now, and he wondered just how early he and Kam had gone to sleep the night before. If he hurried, he'd be back before breakfast.

_You're going to go see Ryleh, aren't you? _Ammy asked.

"Yeah. If anyone can help, it'll be her."

_Are you going to tell her about you and Kam?_

"No." Taron said. "But knowing her, she'll probably guess, if she doesn't know already. She's had spells on us since birth to keep an eye on us."

_I've been checking since we got here, and those spells have been dormant since you and the rest of your family set foot on school grounds. Ryo gave her access to the school's security spells. She's an unofficial security guard, and can't see into a student's room unless it's an emergency._

"She'll guess then."

He was on the school grounds now, walking in the cool air of early morn. He could barely see the glow of the giant sun stone that brought night and day to Agartha. It was almost sunrise.

"Ammy, do a quick scan and tell if there's anyone awake nearby."

_Let's see.. only Aunt Adsila, and she's on the other side of the school._

"Good." Taron said as he shifted into his dragon form(Ammy's chain grew bigger too, so it wouldn't snap off as Taron's neck grew). He dived into the ground, earth and rock parting for him like water. Ryleh's home was half a mile off of school grounds, and half a mile underground, and it was faster to just angle himself toward it and 'swim' there instead of waiting until he was over it to start 'swimming' down. He felt the wards as he passed through them, knowing she'd meet him now that she was aware he was coming. He became human again as he slipped out of the ground and into the small(by dragon standards) tunnel system she'd created. Like he'd expected, Ryleh was waiting for him. He decided to get straight to the point.

"Grandmother, I have a question. Our kind imprint so we can continue the species, correct? What would happen if the person imprinted upon was incapable of bearing a clutch?"

"Well, it has happened before. Just because reproduction was the original purpose of imprinting doesn't mean it hasn't occasionally backfired. Sometimes a chosen mate is sterile. It's unfortunate, but less of a tragedy when there were many of us. Still, it's possible to have children with someone other than a bonded mate. The process of creating them is just not terribly pleasant. It's biologically possible, just emotionally difficult. Your mother was the first to imprint on a non-dragon, so I don't know how this is going to play out over the long term. There are so many possible complications. But then, life can be a bit messy sometimes... Why do you ask?"

Taron does something she's never seen him do before. His face goes red and he looks away.

"What if.. fertility wasn't the reason the person couldn't have children?"

Ryleh raised an eyebrow expressively. "How interesting. Interspecies? Or is this a gender issue? Sometimes it's so easy to forget that dragons as I knew them really don't exist anymore. Your mother and all of you are really at least half human, with all the complications that come with that. Well, if one were to imprint on well, pretty much anyone, there's really no arguing with that. It is in fact quite permanent. And I think that this family is quite capable of accepting just about anything. And anyone who tried to say otherwise would have to deal with the wrath of your mother," she added with a chuckle.

"Um, more the second one than the first. I was just wondering if this was imprinting or something else." He says. "Your right though, Mother can be persuasive."

"Persuasive. Yes, that's one way of putting it. In all seriousness, if you have imprinted on someone, you'll know. It's a split second thing, but much stronger than any normal attraction. There's a sense of certainty that comes with it. The thing you have to hope for is that the other person feels the same way. Otherwise...it's a difficult thing to spend centuries alone knowing that it will never change. I would not wish it on anyone."

"Thank you.. Grandma. Now that we know for sure, all we have to do is tell everyone else! He isn't looking forward to that, and in truth, even I'm a bit nervous. That's something for us to worry about though. I hope you'll be there." He smiles-shocking Ryleh again by showing anything other than boredom-and leaves.

She could sense his happiness even as he left, and smiled, wondering just who the lucky boy was that had broken through her grandson's boredom and awakened his emotions. It was going to a great day when he told the rest of their family.

There is a great irony in what Ryleh just thought. Years ago, her son, Chan, was possessed by a demon that led him down the path of darkness, He killed all of his siblings(except Aananda, for reasons he was never told) and was attempting to take over all of Agartha. The irony: A demon nearly destroyed her family, and now a demon is going to be a part of it.


	17. Chapter 13

The Cure for Boredom - A Taron Sunwake

Chapter 13: Kam's Surprise

Taron returned to the school the same way he left it, but it was different than when he was last in it. There were a lot of other students up and about for one thing. The noise seemed deafening compared to the quiet of this morning, and he took it in as he walked the halls back to his room. The smell of breakfast was much stronger now and his mouth watered at the thought of eating the food that was making that smell. All thoughts were, unfortunately, forgotten after he opened the door to Kamen's and his room.

"No way in the Nine Hells!" Were the first words out of his mouth, for laid out on his bed(which he thought Kam was going to move back to it's original place) were three different outfits. Red, black, and purple, each of them was made for the sole purpose of being worn on stage.

"Don't say that! I think you'd look good in these! I had Belyu help making them too, so you'd better at least try them on and let her see how they look."

"I thought we weren't going to tell anyone!" Taron exclaimed.

"I didn't tell her," Kamenwati replied calmly. "She knows how much you like our music, so is it really such a stretch that you would like to be a member of _Fly Free_? She agrees that you should look the part. She says she'll fix your hair so your face can't be seen easily, and some more stuff so you're harder to recognize."

"We're supposed to keep _out _of the spotlight.." Taron said weakly, knowing he'd already lost this argument.

"Hence the outfits and Belyu. This isn't all that bad, is it? If your parents ask you why you're acting weird, you can always tell you that I tricked you into becoming a band member and you didn't want people to find out."

"I know I'm going to regret this, but what did you think I'm going to be doing on stage."

"Um, well.. You see, Belyu's good and all, but she thinks some of the songs would sound better if guys sang them. She can play the guitar pretty well, so when she's not singing it wouldn't be like we were down an instrument.."

Taron was stunned, to say the least. He hadn't been expecting to ever become a member of Kamen's band(he didn't even have an musical experience!), and now Kamen was telling him that he would be a singer? He had to sit on his bed to help stop the spinning in his head.

"You.. want me to be a singer in your band? Kamen, I don't even know if I can carry a note in a bucket! Couldn't you have Su'Ta do it instead?"

"I know _he_ can't carry a note. He's only good with drums, so if anyone's going to be a new singer, it's going to be you. Look, we can settle this right now. I've got some lyrics you can use, and if you can't sing worth a damn, you don't have to be a part of the band. You've still got to let Belyu see you in the outfits though, she's not a morning person and I woke her up really early so she could help."

"I'd kill you if I didn't love you.." Taron said, an utter lack of conviction in his voice.

"As long as you did it in one of the outfits were Belyu can see." Kam said as he went to his desk and shuffled through the mass of paper on it. "Here." He says, handing some papers to Taron.

"_The Children Who Inherited Courage_? What made you write a song with a title like?"

"It's from a story I was told when I was real little." Kam explained as he got a far away look in his eyes. "Seven child go to a different world where they meet creatures that become irreplaceable partners and friends. Together, they save both worlds time and time again. When they grow up, another set of children do the same thing. It shows that, no matter what the odds, even if your just some random kid fighting to save the world, you can.." Kam's eyes start to tear up, and his voice low. "I turned it into a song a long time ago, to keep me going."

Taron looks down at the lyrics and silently thanks the song for the power it had, for the strength it had given Kamenwati. Then he starts to sing. He never misses a beat, even when Kam joins him. Together, they sing of courage. Together, they sing of inner strength. Together, they sing.

"So you can sing." His roommate says when it's all over.

"I had good lyrics to sing."

"The song could have been anything else, but it wouldn't have changed how you sang. Welcome to _Fly Free_. Taron Sunwake, you have one month to prepare for the next concert. You might want to practice."


	18. Chapter 14

The Cure for Boredom - A Taron Sunwake

Chapter 14: Stage Fright and Fireworks

"I'm _not_ going to get use to this!" Taron said as he readjusts his stage outfit again.

"It's not my fault." Belyu replied. "The way you eat I don't see how you can't weigh as much as a _boulder_. Until you start eating like you don't have a bottomless hole in your stomach, you won't stay exactly the same size. Without magic, which you're refusing, you'll have to deal with it."

Taron repressed a sigh. How much easier this would be if half his family couldn't see magic, or if he could just tell people he was a dragon! He'd already read and memorized all the songs(a draconic memory does have it's uses), become quite adept with most of the instruments, and knew even his family would have trouble recognizing him when he was all dressed up. Now if only the damn clothes would fit!

"We can alter the one you want to wear before we go on tonight." Su'Ta said. "It's not like it's terribly difficult."

"Speaking of tonight, do you think you'll be okay?" Kam asked. "It will be the first time you've been the center of attention on purpose, right?"

"Don't remind me." Taron grumbled.

"You'll be fine Taron. I was the same way when the band started. Just ignore the people and focus on the music." Su'Ta suggested with a smile.

Taron had been getting similar suggesting from all them for the past month. Too bad he had so much on his mind. He'd had three more dreams where he'd been stalking the halls and attacking whoever he came across since he and Kam had been moving their beds together. There were no rumors about attacks going around the school, so maybe they were just bad dreams. A result of his recent emotional revelation no doubt. He had no idea the teachers were keeping things quiet as they tried to catch the monster.

"I don't know why I let myself get talked into these things." He adjusted the shirt again yet again. "It's not like you _needed_ another band member. The only reason I'm here is because Belyu thinks some songs are better song by guys."

"One must realize that when one is needed is when one doesn't seem to be." Belyu said, a failed attempt to seem like she was wise.

"One must also realize when one is making a fool on ones self." Su'Ta said not quite low enough to keep her from hearing. A argument started that looked like it would take awhile. Kamen took the opportunity to pull Taron aside.

"You know you don't have to do this if you don't want to, right?" He whispered.

"I want to, really, it's just.. I don't know, stage fright maybe? I can't imagine the new guy messing up would go well with your die-hard fans."

"Dude, _you're_ a die-hard fan! Just remember how the music makes you feel when you hear it, and know that that is the same feeling you'll be making everyone feel! How can that give you stage fright?"

Taron thought about it for a moment. He really did love how music could make him feel, and if others could feel that way from the music he played, he shouldn't be afraid. He could feel himself relax at the thought. He'd have to find a way to repay Kamen for all of this.

"Hey, you know that song we've been practicing?" He asked, a playful gleam in his purple eyes.

"Which one? _Light Up The Sky_ or _Memory_?"

"I was actually thinking about _I'm Still Here_. I think it seems.. right, you know?"

"Yeah, in some weird way I guess it does. You sure you want to sing that one?"

"I like it, and I don't think people will guess it's me to easily if I'm singing that one."

They stopped whispering as the argument between Belyu and Su'Ta cooled down a little. Like all the others, it wasn't finished and probably never would be. But since their prep time for the concert tonight was growing shorter, they'd shut up long enough to get back to practice. They'd gotten Ryo(while Taron wasn't nearby) to open the basement up for them early so they had more time, but even with that they were cutting it short.

They spent the next few hours in a rush of hurried practice, and Belyu was only just able to adjust Taron's stage costume one last time before they had to perform. They walked onto stage together, and Kam introduced 'the mysterious new band member' as Drake 'Stormfriend', a student who had only just gotten the courage to join them on stage. There was more than one surprised murmur passing through the crowd, but when the music started everyone cheered, glad to see that 'Drake' was just as good as the other band members and wouldn't bring down the quality music they had grown used to. By the end of the first song, everyone liked him. But perhaps the purple 'fireworks' exploding overhead helped a bit.

If Kamenwati and Taron knew of the surprise Ryo had planned for this particular concert, they'd be preparering for battle and escape. It was a reward for all the student's hard work, and a way to show off what they could do. Tonight was Parent's Night and everyone was invited.

Everyone.


	19. Chapter 15

The Cure for Boredom - A Taron Sunwake

Chapter 15: Listen to your Mother

Just before _Fly Free's_ final song(the one Taron wanted to sing, _I'm Still Here_), Ryo opened the doors to the basement again and let the parent's who could make it in. With everyone else 's attention on the performance, the parents were able to get in unnoticed. All was going according to plan for Ryo, who wanted the students to turn around after the band was done to see their family waiting for them. It was going to be a great way to end the concert.

Too bad all was going according to plan for someone else too. In a blue-green dress she had slipped in with her three bodyguards(posing as close cousins) and was now watching _Fly Free's_ performance with avid interest. To think the boy had such a skill! He must have hidden it all this time, using it in secret to keep a firm grip on his humanity... He certainly was a very special child. Something inside her stirred as she watched. It was something she hadn't felt since he'd run off.

She was proud of her son.

She motioned to her bodyguards to spread out a bit and moved to the front of the parental crowd. She applauded along with the rest as the song ended, but as soon as the applause settled she called out with a magically enhanced voice that carried across the entire concert area.

"A man, Kamenwati?" She inquired. "Interesting, considering all you have done." She grinned as she watched him pale so quickly it looked like he might faint. "You ran away from home. You stole a very strong magical item before that, and have been using it to lie to everyone you've met. From what we've gathered, you've run from every single problem since you left home. Instead of facing them like a _man,_ you took the coward's route. All of this leads me to believe you simply aren't ready to be out and about yet. It's time to come home Kamenwati."

Kamenwati's breathing was shallow and ragged, and he was extremely close to having a panic attack when Taron stepped in front of him.

"DON'T YOU _DARE_ COME ANY CLOSER!" He roared. He didn't need to be a genius to figure out who this lady was. "HE GOES NOWHERE WITH YOU!"

Lillith walked forward slowly through the path students were making out of fear. They could sense the evil emanating from her, and did not want to draw her ire. As she walked, her dress shimmered and turned into a form fitting armor covered in wicked looking spikes.

"And who are you to stand up to me? How do you even have the slightest clue who I am? Don't tell my son, who has lied to every child in this room since he first arrived here, told you the truth?"

Taron jumped down off of the stage to block her path, eyes so bright with anger that they literally glowed with a purple aura.

"I'm his friend, and I've know about him since my first day here. Take one more step and I'll rip that armor off and gut you faster than you can blink."

Lillith stopped and stared, surprised at the obvious-and foolish-show of power. She had been told this school was for fostering the strange and sometimes unpredictable power youth had, but still. She hadn't expected this... She hadn't made it this far charging recklessly into things. She would gather information first.

"I don't have to move any closer young man, for I am not alone." She raised her hand and brought it down swiftly, signaling two of her bodyguards to attack. With a horrible shriek, they leapt into the air and shed their disguises. Rising into the air, the vulture-like humanoid demons known as vrock swooped toward Kamen, cackling madly. Twin bolts of purple energy slammed them out of the air before they even got close.

"I said he's not going anywhere with you." Taron said, arms still raised from where he had directed his attack. His glowing eyes hadn't left Lillith.

It was at this time that the rest of the crowd reacted. With screams and yells filled the air, both students and parents alike ran for the exits, more than eager to get away from the dangerous woman and the vrocks. Only Kam, Taron, his family, and Lillith's group remained in the transfigured basement after mere moments. Ryo, Aananda, Tamrin, Razule, Ormarr, Adsila, Ephebe, and Jiminy moved to Taron's aid, but were stopped by a transparent barrier. Lillith looked over her shoulder and smiled.

"Pazuzu has graced me with powers unimaginable. Do not interfere with the retrieval of my son." She turned back to Taron as his family assaulted the barrier with everything they had. "Boy, don't be an idiot. Even now my vrocks are recovering from your attack, and my third bodyguard hasn't even had to lift one of her many fingers. Stand down and you won't be hurt.. much."

This time Kam was the one who stepped up, leaving a terrified Belyu on stage to cower behind a surprisingly calm Su'Ta.

"I-I'm not l-leaving." He stammered.

"Listen to your mother child, things will go easier that way." The final bodyguard said, her voice laced with compulsion magic. Her magic worked it's way into Kam's mind, making him compliant.

"That's a good boy. Now my son, why don't you take off that armband and show the nice people behind me what you really are?"

Taron stared, unable to understand why Kamen was suddenly listening to this vile woman. He looked to his own mother as Kam started to remove the armband keeping him disguised.

"Mom! Tell him to stop, please! He'll listen to you, don't let him take it off!"

Shocked by the realization that Taron was here(though not as shocked as she would have been a few months ago), Aananda stopping trying to break through the wall and did as her son said, though she didn't understand why Kam would listen to her.

"Kamenwati, don't you dare take that armband off!" She called out.

Kam looked at her as he stopped, not sure of what to do.

"Kamenwati!" Lillith said firmly. "Remove it this instant!"

"Whatever you do, don't listen to her!"

This went on a few more times before Kam started to shake violently. He had been told to listen to his mother, but his relationship with Taron made Aananda his mother too.. Twin trickles of blood dripped from his nose as it became too much for him and he fell flat on his face. Lillith quickly cast a spell and he flew through the air to float by her side.

"I don't know what just happened, but you've made this a lot easier. Now die."

The vrock attacked again, and the last bodyguard, revealing herself as a succubus, launched a barrage of mentally compelling spells at Taron's mind.

All three turned to dust and were blown apart as waves of power began to emanate from Taron. He shifted instantly into his dragon form, wings spread wide as he roared his rage at Lillith.

_PUT HIM DOWN! _He screamed mentally. If he wasn't in such a rage, he would have been surprised when she did so.

"A dragon, eh?" She said as a shield and mace appeared in her hands. "You're scales will make a wonderful set of armor."

The raw psychic power surging from Taron slid harmlessly off of her, Pazuzu's granted magic protecting her. She slammed her shield against Taron and placed a mighty blow with her mace to his scaled chest, but he did not falter. He snapped at her, trying to bite an arm off, but she slipped out of his way way. She didn't see his tail whip around to strike her legs, but she remained standing despite the powerful tail swipe. She battered away his massive claws, ignored the wings that flailed against her armor, and dodged his savage bites. With the power of a Demon Prince on her side, she may very well have killed Taron. But she didn't know she was outnumbered.

With only the plummeting temperature of the air to announce it's arrival, the creature that had been attacking students appeared behind Lillith and sank is frost covered talons into her armor, peeling away metal and flesh before she knocked it away with her mace.

A whirring sound was the next warning she got, and she raised her shield in time to stop the spinning blades of Ta'Su's skates from hurting her even more. A sonic blast nearly knocked her off her feet as Su'Ta joined the fray, plucking a guitar cord for the near silent attack.

"How are you all getting in here! Nothing should be able to bypass the barrier!"

"Who said we bypassed it?" Ta'Su said as his own eyes glowed like Taron's. The eyes of Su'Ta and the creature glowed the same way. "We were already here."

As realization hit Lillith, she felt something extremely strange happen to her. It felt like there was something pressing on her back and chest. She looked down to see the tip of Taron's claw protruding from her chest, and it retreated with a sudden jerking motion. She felt it rip through her spine as she fell back, vision fading. The last thing she saw were the angry, glowing eyes of a dragon looking down at her.

By the time Taron's family succeeded in breaking down the wall that had held them at bay, Lillith was an unrecognizable mess on the floor, nothing more than a pile of blood and gore. Ta'Su and Su'Ta, along with the creature, vanished before they could be seen by Taron's family. Aananda and Tamrin ran to there son, who had become human again and was staring blankly at the remains.

"Taron? Taron, are you okay?" Aananda asked, worried. "Please say something!"

He looked at her as if noticing her for the first time.

"Mom? Promise.. me something.." He said as his legs became weak. Mentally, physically, and emotionally, he was exhausted. His father had to hold him up.

"What?" His mother asked.

"Don't.. don't anything anything.. about Kam.. until I wake up." He started to blink rapidly, trying to clear his blurring vision. "And.. get Grandma. I.. want her there."

He blacked out.


	20. Chapter 15 and a half

The Cure for Boredom - A Taron Sunwake

Chapter 15.5: Kamenwati's Decision

Kamenwati was torn. On the one hand, he hated that women with a passion, but on the other hand, she _was _his mother. Why couldn't he figure out whether he was happy or not about her death then? That was the sort of thing going through his head as he stayed, as if glued, to the side of Taron's bed. It had been a few days since the.. incident, and Taron still hadn't woken up. He had plenty of company though, since Taron's family always had at least one member of it with him.

Each one of them asked more than once why Taron did what he did, why he fought with so much anger. Kam didn't tell them that they were together, thinking that it was something they should do together. So he keep shaking his head like he didn't know.

"It's my fault." He said when they asked why he stayed so close. They weren't even sure he'd left the room since he first sat in the chair, which he hadn't. No one had asked about the armband though, so he had been lucky in that regard. Once they did though...

"You're the one, aren't you?"

Kamen jumped, having been so deep in thought that he hadn't even noticed a new woman had entered the room. Except for Taron they were alone, and that seemed to be the way she wanted it. Her stare sent shivers down his spine.

"What.. what do you mean?"

"I think you know exactly what I mean. No one I can think could have caused Taron to change so much. Except for one very special kind of person. The kind that is unique in they way Taron would feel about him."

"You know we're together, don't you?" Kam said as he stood up and took a step back.

"Don't be afraid. He came to me asking about imprinting, and I guessed that he had imprinted on a male. The only difference is that I can now put a face to the man who broke through my grandson's boredom."

"Didn't hear what my late mother said, did you? I run from problems and lie about what I am. I'm not a man, I'm a coward."

"Yet here you are, not leaving the room of the person you love, no matter how many times the same infuriating question is asked. How can you be a coward and when you haven't run and hid from the people whose son is in an intensive care room because your mother tried to take you away by force and he stopped her?"

Kam admitted to himself that she was right. But she was still wrong and he had to fix that.

"Because even on stage, in front of hundreds, I'm still hiding. But no more." He walked out of the room for the first time in days and went straight to Ryo. "I want you to get all the students together."

"Why, has something happened? Did he wake up?"

"Not yet. But I'm going to put some rumors Ephebe told me about to rest. Get all the students together Ryo, and tell them they're in for a shock."

"The auditorium will work.." Ryo replied, but as soon as those first two words had left his mouth, Kamenwati began walking away like a man with a purpose.

Less than an hour later, Kamenwati was pacing behind the curtains, cursing himself for what he was about to do. He peeked and saw only about half of the seats were full.

"The other students are getting a live feed to this. I can assure you of that." Ryo said. "Why did you want everyone to see whatever it is you're about to do?"

"Because I've lied to each and every one of them Ryo. I've lied to _you_ about something more important, but that has to wait. I don't want to be a liar anymore, I don't want to run and hide. I will prove I am not a coward. Taron might think I'm an idiot for doing this while he's unconscious right now though." And with that he walked out from behind the curtains. The half-formed crowd went silent.

"I know you were all at the concert, and I know that's were you all heard what my mother said. Every bit of it was true. I ran away from home after stealing a magical item. It's this armband right here actually." He says as he pulls up his sleeve so everyone can see. "But what she didn't say, was that the 'home' I ran away from was a floating castle in the Abyss. Yeah, I lived with demons and occultists for nearly ten years. Unimaginable, isn't it? But it's true, and what this armband hides is proof of it." He slipped his hands in the slits on his shirt, taking off the bindings and throwing them across the stage. Then he slid the band down his wrist and, with his wings snapping out to their fullest, he took it off.

People tried to hold back screaming as his shape wavered and his true self was revealed. Wide eyes took in the long black hair, the wings, the scales around his collarbone and upper back that they could see around his shirt collar, and the black lightning that traveled up and down his arms.

"My time in the Abyss changed me. But I'm still the Kamenwati you've always known. I can still sing and play music. I can still live and love and hate and cry."

"You're a demon! How can we trust you after this!" Another student said as he stood up in his seat.

"Because you trusted me when you thought I was human! I was still me damn it, and you should know that!" Kam replied furiously. "But you know what? After this, I don't care if you ever talk to me again! I've finally told you the truth, showed you what I really was, and if can't see how hard that was then you can go #%& yourself sideways!" He jumped off the stage and put the band back on as he left the auditorium. He hadn't taken two steps out of the door before Ryo grabbed him by the wings and spun him around.

"Where do you think your going? I can't just let you walk around now that I know what you are."

"What am I, Headmaster Ryo? Aananda's a dragon, and you don't care about that so I should be no different. Do me one more favor, even if you're only doing it because Taron would ask you the same thing. Let me tell his family when he's awake." He pushed Ryo away and went back to reclaim his seat at Taron's side.


	21. Chapter 16

The Cure for Boredom - A Taron Sunwake

Chapter 16: In Which Taron Wakes Up

It wasn't until the next morning that Taron regained consciousness. He opened his eyes slowly, squinting as his eyes adjusted to being open again. He saw his father sitting to one side, asleep in a large chair. He looked about as good as Taron felt, which wasn't very good at the moment. He felt like he'd rolled down a steep mountain covered in sharp rocks. He couldn't describe the way his mind felt. But when he he looked to his other side he could have leaped out of the bed he felt so good. There, wrapped in a thick blanket, was Kamenwati.

"Kam.." He rasped, his voice only as loud as a rough whisper. "Kam, you.. awake?"

"I am now." He said as he jerked out of his sleep. "How you feeling?"

"Horrible. How long have I been out?"

"Days. Whatever you did took a toll on you. I'd tell you how stupid that was, but I did something stupid too."

"What?" Taron asked, almost afraid to know.

"I got your Uncle to get as many students together as he could and then outed myself as a cambion. I told them to do something rather bad too, once I had."

"You couldn't have waited until I was awake!" Taron whispered harshly.

"If I'd known you were going to wake the day after, then yes, I could have. Your grandmother came by yesterday too, said she already knew about us and helped me get enough courage to be an idiot. Ryo also knows I'm a cambion, and I think your brother and sister do too, but I think Ryo told them not to say anything. I did have the sense to ask him to keep what I am a secret until you could be awake for it. I expect he'll tell them all now if he hasn't already."

"You could beat him to the punch and tell my dad. He's right there." Taron replied as he turns his head to look at the sleeping Tamrin. "I'll pretend to be asleep so I can 'wake up' and distract him if he tries anything." He closed his eyes. "Go on, wake him up and tell him."

"But.." Kamenwati said faintly, trying to come up with a reason he shouldn't and failing. He stood and wrapped the blanket around himself tighter, using it hold his wings down as he walked over to Tamrin and nudged him until he woke up.

"Huh? What is it Kamenwati?" He mumbled as he looked at Taron to see if he'd woken up.

"There's something you should know about me." He let the blanket fall and stretched his wings. "I'm a cambion and I've been using this armband to make myself look human. My mother came to get me so she could turn me into an insane tool for Pazuzu, and Taron did what he did because he knew all of this and was protecting me." He took a step back as he waited for Tamrin to respond.

"You.. he.." Tamrin said, confused for a few moments by the sudden rush of information. Then he stood up and loaded a spell capsule into his Caster before pressing the spell-gun's barrel against Kamenwati's chest. "You're a demon. Give me one reason not to shoot you."

"Because I'll rip your arm off if you even try it." Taron said as opened his eyes and lifted his head. "And because I have my Manifester pointed at you if I don't think I can take your arm in time." It was true, the amethyst gun that shaped itself around his hand was pointed directly at his father. It felt strange to have it formed again after so long...

"He's a demon-"

"I'm a _dragon_, Tamrin Sunwake, and you are a human turned elven. You've seen what I can do when my mind is in good shape, do you want to find out what I can do when it's not?" Taron smiled lopsidedly at his father's expression. "Just leave him alone long enough for us to explain, okay?" He suddenly glared at the door. "Kam, get behind me. It seems Uncle Ryo has told the rest of my family what you are, and my Grandmother is rather angry. I said _move._"

Kamenwati took the advice none to soon, because the door flew open and one of the hinges actually broke as Ryleh stormed in, eyes blazing with fury.

"Grandma, back off before my threat against dad applies to you too. I'm not in the mood to fight everyone off right now, and I'm certainly not in any condition to do so."

"But he's a-" Ryleh started to say before Taron cut her off.

"Why does everyone fixate on that? I;m a dragon, you're a dragon, and we both hide what we really are because of the way people will react! For the same reasons, Kam did the same thing. The only difference between us is that _you_ are one of the people reacting! You're acting just like the Hunters you told us about and can't even see it!"

"How dare you.." Ryleh snarled.

"_HOW DARE YOU!"_ Taron yelled. That wasn't the best idea, and the pain in his head told him as much. "You know what he is, more than the rest of the family, and still you can't see past the surface! It's no wonder our kind ran away and made this underground prison. If you can't see past the surface from one direction, the other doesn't count, does it?"

_Taron.. _She thought to him desperately.

_No. You said it was a split-second thing, that I'd know immediately. Get over yourself and apologize or get out and don't come near us ever again._

Looking between her grandson and Kamenwati, Ryleh was torn. She couldn't let a demon into the family.. could she?

"I.. I'm sorry Kamenwati." She said slowly.

"Great Io, it's not like I'm asking you to hug him or anything." Taron muttered. "Now, why haven't any of you asked how I feel?"

He surrendered himself to his family, who were more than overjoyed at his recovery. As nice as it was, the talking and bad jokes and hospital-like food started to take their toll on the still weak Taron, and it wasn't long before he had Kam shoo them away.

"So, should we tell them while their still upset about the whole 'Hi my name is Kamenwati and I am a cambion' thing?"

"Let's wait until I can eat without needing to rest, okay? We're going to need to move for what I have planned."

"Why can't we just tell them now, without whatever plan your tired, just-woke-up-from-what-was-most-likely-a-coma mind came up with?"

"Because it's more fun if we do it my way. You wouldn't want me to go about this the same boring way as everyone else, would you?"

Kam spent the next hour trying to figure why he had ever thought it was a good idea to use Taron's boredom against him...


	22. Chapter 17

The Cure for Boredom - A Taron Sunwake

Chapter 17: Telling the Family

Over the next few weeks, as Taron recovered and Kam dealt with the other students fears and attacks(which were nothing more than pranks really, none of the students were brave enough to attack him outright), they put their plan into motion. The hardest part was up to Taron, who had to create a portal that would open, break through Agartha's ancient wards, seal them again, and close in a matter of seconds so it they couldn't be traced easily. They'd need time to prepare after all.

And then, finally, success! They traveled(accidentally I might add, since they were actually aiming for the Elemental Plane of Air) to a strange place called The Club of Calistria, where they met a strange girl about their age named Arielle and her boyfriend Canus(though they met him from afar, since he wouldn't leave the pool for some reason) who was also known as 'Little Kiba'. Convincing Taron to dance with Arielle while he played the music, Kam found he thoroughly enjoyed this place where outward appearance and heritage didn't matter.

Their fun was cut short when Taron sensed his family was looking for them outside of Agartha now, and they had to return quickly lest this spot, so perfect for the plan, be discovered. They lied of course, saying that they wanted to be in a place where they weren't being fretted over or glared at with suspicious eyes. It was accepted, but not believed by anyone. Taron and Kamenwati didn't like to lie, but they felt they had too. After all, Taron's family wasn't exactly enthusiastic about the amount of time he was spending with Kam now that they knew Kam was a cambion. Ryleh was the only one who had come around so far, but she only did that after they let her check for any magical compulsions on Taron and take a look into their minds. She saw how they brightened on the inside when they touched, and had to admit that this was real. At the very worst she was just uncomfortable around Kam.

"So do you think it's time?" Kamen asked Taron early one morning while they were alone. "Things aren't getting better between us and them you know."

"I know. I was sort of hoping that it wouldn't come to this for some reason." Taron sighed. "How about we do this at lunch? Breakfast seems to soon and we don't have enough time for that anyway, but dinner seems to late and we'd have too _much_ time. We have everything ready, don't we?"

"Oh yeah, we've had that stuff ready for a long time. It wasn't the hardest part of this whole plan by a long shot." Kam replied with a laugh.

"Then eat a big breakfast Kamenwati, I think we're going to miss out on lunch." Taron grinned. He usually didn't miss a meal, but today he'd gladly make an exception. If all went well, the worst thing he'd have to worry about was the fact the _rest_ of his family hadn't eaten.

At breakfast, Taron told everyone that he and Kamenwati were going to explain what all of this was about, that they were finally going to let everyone in on the big secret that they seemed to have been keeping since Taron's first day of school. They were doing it at lunch though, so everyone would just have to wait. Once everyone else left the house though, Taron opened his room door and let Kam in.

"So this is Headmaster Ryo's real home, huh?" He said in awe as he looked around. "This is impressive."

"He's kept it pretty simple over the years. The only time there are any improvements is when my parents make him upgrade the kitchen or something. Come on, we need to get the things set up, and you can gawk once we're done." Taron urged as he walked back their room and pulled the giant frame out from under his bed. "Get the sheet and hope no one comes back early."

The work took a surprisingly short amount of time for the amount of planning they had done. As promised, once they were done Taron let his roommate gawk. He even showed him the list he'd made once. Kamenwati got a real kick out of reading "One Thousand and One Thing to do While Bored" and couldn't believe his roommate had actually done them. When he stopped laughing long enough to catch his breath, he wrote "Build a pyre for dolls" at the bottom and started laughing again. When Taron saw what Kam had written, he cried out in mock anger and tackled him to the ground, where they wrestled for several minutes until finally collapsing in a heap.

"That was quite a show." Said a soft voice from the doorway. "It wouldn't happen to have anything to do with what's under that sheet downstairs, would it?"

Taron jerked around to look at the door, and growled his frustration at none other than Ruji, the Guardian of the Antairus family and one of his Uncle Ryo's 'spies' and friends.

"Ruji, I thought you were someone else! I know you're glad you can communicate with sounds now, but still, don't scare me like that." He nearly yelled at the winged cat.

"I suppose that would be my job." Said the voice again, and Taron froze. He recognized it now and could tell it wasn't coming from the confused looking cat.

"H-hello Uncle Keaton.. I can explain."

"I'm sure you can." His deathly pale uncle said as he stepped into the doorway. "Do tell, and quickly. I've been itching to sink my fangs into this mystery my nephew and his roommate have created. I think my keen mind, even in undeath, may have already guessed based on that little wrestling match."

"What are you even doing here? I thought you were traveling across the seas!"

While they talked, Kam looked back and forth between, as confused as Ruji was.

"Wait a minute!" He said loudly. "Can someone explain who this guy is?"

"He's my uncle. Well, my other uncle." Taron explained. "Kam, this is Keaton, Ryo's younger and now vampiric brother. Uncle Keaton, this is my roommate Kamenwati."

"Wait.. did you say vampiric? Your uncle's a _vampire_!" Kam clutched his neck as if in anticipation of being bitten.

"Calm yourself young and kind cambion." Keaton replied with a smile. "I've grown to hate blood and what drinking it does to me. If you know half as much about this family as I think you do, I don't see how this is so surprising."

"Well.. I.." Kam stammered. "So what do you think you know?" He shot back.

"I may not be alive, but I've been watching you since breakfast was over. Creepy I know, but my brother asked me last night when I returned from my trip to keep an eye on you two to make sure nothing bad happened. Considering they way you've look at each other and what I just now saw, he has nothing to worry about. May I ask why you've been keeping this such a closely guarded secret?"

"It scared me." Taron said slowly, throwing a guilty look at Kamenwati. "It caused me to feel so many emotions and I wasn't sure it was real.. But I talked to Grandma about it eventually and everything turned out to be fine. Then I was worried about how everyone would react, and then there was the incident at the last concert.." He trailed off.

"And you didn't know how many shocks this family could take so close together." Keaton finished for him. "I'm going to be blunt and tell you that is just stupid. This is a _good _kind of shock."

"You know, if he was around _before_ all of the work we just did, which he watched us do without offering to help, we could have been done with this a lot sooner if he had just helped a little bit." Kam said with only a slightly subtle joking undertone. Taron punched him while Keaton laughed.

"I'll leave the house to you two then. Don't worry, I won't ruin the surprise or anything. Just be sure Ruji gets a clear look at their faces when you tell them, I'd hate to miss that." Keaton said as he smiled and showed his fangs. He slipped away and left the house while the youths untangled themselves.

"So what do we do now?" Kam asked. "We've got everything set up and it's not even close to lunchtime yet."

Taron shrugged.

"I don't know."

They both looked up at the same time and caught each others eye almost instantly. They stared for a moment and then quickly looked away with bright red faces. After a few moments they looked back to see they were both looking again and went from there.

When lunch came around, both of them were much more confident about their plan. It was solid, and would give them time to prepare for the next part while the family tried to make sense of what they had just done _and _searched for the runaway couple. They sat down at the head of the table in the dining room as everyone started to show up. Taron smiled openly when his grandmother walked in, and she gave him a little wave. Once everyone was seated, Taron and Kamenwati stood up.

"Okay." Kamen started. "So I know you've all been wondering what been going on that's been messing with Taron so much, and I know you all think it has something to do with me. The truth is.. your right. In fact, it has everything to do with me."

"You see, after we got past the whole exchange of threats stage and became friends, I helped Kamenwati find a new family to be a part of, though I didn't know it at the time." Taron explained. "When I did figure it out, I was so shocked that I went a little crazy."

"A little crazy?" Kam snorted. "You freaked out."

"Don't interrupt. So anyway, we spent the day setting up a way to show you who the family is without completely ruining the surprise before hand." Taron said as he left the room. He returned a few moments later pulling something large, thin, and completely covered by a sheet. "Which is why we choose to go with the sheet."

"You spent the day painting?" Ryo asked skeptically.

"Not exactly." Taron glanced at Kamenwati. "You ready?"

Kamenwati laughed nervously before nodding. Together, they each grabbed a corner of the sheet and pulled.

Under it was a large mirror.

"See you later!" They said in unison as they fled, dashing into the portal Taron created and ending up back at the Club where they had met Arielle.

THE END.


	23. Chapter 18

The Cure for Boredom - A Taron Sunwake

Chapter 18: Epilogue and Narrator Revealed.

Narrator: So, what did you kids think? I'm pretty good at telling a story, aren't I?

Children: What happened next? Come on, tell us!

Narrator: Now now, that's a story for another time.

*There is a knock at the door, which is now open with Taron and two boys standing in it*

Taron: Telling our story again, Kam? You should of told me you were going to be sharing it with them again, I could have been here to keep you honest.

Children: *giggling and laughing at Kam's expression*

Kamenwati: Now really! Do you honestly think I would lie about what happened?

Taron: No, but I do think you might have made your skills seem better than they were.

Emrys(the boy that looks like Taron) and Jakkan(the boy that looks like Kam): Yeah!

Kamenwati: See what you've done? Now you've turned our own children against me!

Taron: Because it's the end of the Inner World if they can call you on your tall tales.

Kamenwati: Of course!

All the Children: *giggling and laughing continues*

Taron(smiling): Well, it's getting late, and you need to tell our sons a story now since you didn't tell us about this one. And don't worry, I'll make sure you don't make any 'mistakes' this time.

Kamenwati(smiling and shaking his head): Okay. Time for bed kids, everybody out. You don't have to go to your rooms but you do have to go to sleep!

Children: *groaning* Aww! Tell us another story!

Taron: I'll get the pillows and blankets. *leaves*

Kamenwati: Great job there, Taron. Okay kids, how about...


End file.
